KonoSuba: A Tale of this Beautiful World Vol2
by Dknightodin
Summary: The second volume of the series.
1. Prologue

_**Konosuba: A Tale of this Beautiful World**_

~Volume Two~

**Prologue**

_My name is Satou Kazuma; I'm originally from Japan. I died and was revived in another world. Sent here by divine providence to defeat the Demon King, I somehow, succeeded. Along for the ride were my three female companions: a mostly useless goddess; a lusty—but brave crusader; and a leader-loving, explosion-crazy archmage. Together, we managed the impossible. More importantly, __**I**__ managed the seemingly impossible task of finding some semblance of the peaceful and comfortable life I once wished for…or so I thought. _

_After defeating the Demon King, I was given the choice of returning to Japan or pursuing another impossible task; defeating not one Demon King or two, but three more and then—the even more gargantuan task—of defeating the then-revived Demon God. Seeking to challenge myself once more, I chose the more difficult task. To add to the difficulty, there was now the more complicated aspects of being the master of a powerful, but recently established house and all that brought with it…and there was also that thing of…well, being married._

I stared at the beautiful woman stood before us. Though she was indeed something to look at, her sapphire eyes exuded a different sentiment. They stared at me with contempt; as if I were a lesser being, a piece of trash, a…something.

"Lalatina-sama," She said turning to her; her jet-black hair whipped through the air as the singular thick braid it bore, swung wide. All traces of the malevolent stare she gave me was gone.

Darkness frowned. "Irene, I go by the name 'Darkness' in this household."

The maid quickly grew flustered. "F-Forgive me, Lala—D-Dark…ness…sama." She appeared to be having immense trouble adjusting.

Darkness sighed. "It's ok, Irene; you may call me by what you feel comfortable with."

"F-Forgive me," She retorted, desperately dropping to her knees and prostrating herself before Darkness.

"Oi, Darkness," I said in a mixture of confusion and annoyance, "what's going on here; I thought you said she was gonna be the maid of **this** house?"

"Irene, please get up," Darkness said, turning towards me afterwards. "Sorry, Kazuma; Irene has worked for my family for years. She left when she found out I was searching for a maid; as such…she's probably…"

"It looks like she's having some difficulty adjusting," Megumin noted.

Irene got up and stood proudly.

"I am Rosenthall Viira Irene; once a maid of the prestigious Dustiness household, I now offer my service to you. Please forgive my embarrassing display." She bowed her head once more, but her eyes narrowed as they made contact with my own.

"_Oi, what's with that death stare she's giving me; I didn't do anything to her."_

"Irene, let me introduce you," Darkness said with a smile. "This is Aqua, she's our archpriestess; this is Megumin, she's"—Darkness coughed slightly—"the lady of the house **and** our archmage; and this is—"

"Satou Kazuma, your master and head of this house," I answered, both firmly and proudly.

She remained silent, her eyes pelting me with a withering gaze.

"Oi—"

"May I be most suitable for your needs, Master," she said with an almost mockingly accurate curtsy. She then turned to Megumin and bowed deeply. "May I be of ample service to you, My Lady."

"…_why do I get the feeling she's intentionally being disrespectful to me? _Oi," I said, "what's up with you; why are you glaring at me?"

Irene's stoic demeanor remained, and then a moment later she smiled. "Satou-sama, I can assure you I've done no such thing; why would I bare hostility towards the master of the house?"

I frowned. "Is no one else seeing this?!"

Darkness looked at Irene, and then, me. "Kazuma, I think you're just unfamiliar with the stoic behavior servants usually have."

"Hey, Darkness, do I have to remind you, I stayed at the royal palace; I had servants tending to my every need for days on end, how the hell wouldn't I know?!"

"I don't think you needed to remind us," Megumin said, knitting her brow slightly.

"Kazuma, you wouldn't know servitude if it hit you in the face," Aqua added.

"Hey, why are **you** saying that?!" I retorted. "Anyways, she's obviously hostile to me for some reason; sorry, Darkness, I'm not hiring her," I said, turning away.

"Satou-sama, if you don't hire me, I'll have nowhere to go; I'll be forced to live in the stables," Irene said, her voice still stern despite the context of her message.

"And that concerns me why?"

"Kazuma," the other three replied in varying levels of disbelief and worry.

"Listen, me and Aqua have lived in the stables for months while we had to get adjusted; it's not—"

"Kazuma," Aqua said, glowering at me, "I can't believe you'd let a woman sleep in the stables; you're being a bigger scumbag than usual!"

"Oi, how is this—first of all, couldn't she just go back to Darkness' house?!"

All of us stared at Irene.

She shook her head. "My tenure in the Dustiness household is over; to return after willfully leaving would be incredibly distasteful; I'd rather be digested by an acidic slime than resort to doing something so unsightly."

Darkness spoke. "Though I understand your convictions, Irene, I'm sure my father would gladly—"

"Lalatina-sama, even if Lord Ignis would allow it, I cannot; simply put—"

"Simply put, you're too proud for it," I interjected.

Irene glanced at me with an expressionless face and then looked back at Darkness.

Darkness sighed heavily and then looked at me. "Kazuma, I can vouch for Irene's performance."

"Her performance isn't the concern here—it's her attitude!"

"We'll hire her," Megumin said.

"What, didn't I just—"

"Kazuma." Megumin stared at me with pleading eyes.

"…tch…fine." I crossed my arms, frowning at the decision. "But if she does anything blatantly disrespectful towards me, I don't care, she's out of here."

"Kazuma, she's—"

"Listen, if it was guy who came here and started giving you the stink eye, would you hesitate to throw them out?"

Megumin and Aqua looked away with slight guilt.

Darkness smiled at the thought. "Actually, Kazuma—"

"Shut up, Darkness, you don't count. But my point exactly." I turned towards Irene. "I'm a man who believes in true gender equality; you won't find any leeway with me, got it?"

Irene's face relaxed slightly. She bowed once more; this time showing slightly more subservience. "Understood…Satou-sama."

"Humph, good." I turned to Aqua. "You're still washing the clothes for today."

"Huh—but why?!"

"Because you should've had it done already!"

"I did—"

"Yeah, except mine."

"Ehhh, do I really have to clean your clothes…I'm getting sort of squeamish at the thought."

"Oi, you never used to get squeamish about washing my clothes; why all of a sudden, you do?"

Irene interrupted. "Aqua-sama, if it would please you, I can assume responsibility for the rest of the laundry."

"Hey, stop trying to get her to offload her responsibilities onto you."

"Satou-sama, my disdain for you aside"—I frantically looked to confirm everyone was hearing what I heard—"I find the rest of the household to be honorable and worthy of respect; the fact that Aqua-sama and Megumin-sama has shown me hospitality when you haven't is testament to how much of a disreputable piece of trash you are." She quickly turned to Darkness and bowed deeply. "Forgive me, Lalatina-sama, that you have to hear such vulgarity coming from me."

"Oi, was I only one that just heard what she said?!"

"I mean she isn't wrong," Aqua replied.

I glared at her and then turned to Irene. "If I'm such a big piece of trash unworthy of respect, then why don't you just find another household that **is**; get out!"

"Kazuma, she's staying," Megumin said.

I turned to her. "Oi, you **do** hear the things she's saying about me, right? You're usually the one to jump up and say something about this."

"I know…but I want her to stay—or barring that, we won't get any servants."

I looked at her perplexedly, and then crossed my arms. "I thought this was supposed to be **my** decision?"

"It is, it's **ours**."

I stared at Megumin, she stared back gently; I conceded.

Turning back to Irene, I sighed, saying, "Listen, I don't know what I did to deserve your undying hatred, but this is the only place I can get some peace; **please**…don't ruin that for me."

For the first time I saw Irene stare at me with anything other than distaste; her eyes briefly widened with surprise before returning to a stoic manner. "Forgive me, Satou-sama; I was wrong in my earlier assessment of you." I looked at her with a modicum of astonishment. "You're only a slightly disreputable piece of trash—"

"Oi."

"—but one worthy of my respect." Once more she bowed. "I am Rosenthall Viira Irene, if you would continue to have me, Satou-sama, I would be happy to serve this house."

I sighed deeply. "It's not really up to me though, is it?" I said, looking over at Megumin; she gave a cheeky smile. "Sure, now let's eat; breakfast is probably cold."


	2. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**Chapter 1: New Beginnings**

**Part 1**

A couple days later as I sat in the living room tinkering away at a new invention, Megumin came up to me.

"Kazuma, Kazuma," she said, smiling proudly. Her expression quickly changed to wonder as she peered down at what I was making. "Oh, what're you making now?"

I peered up from my work. "Ah, just something else. Anyways, what's up; did you need something?"

Megumin quickly took a seat beside me, seemingly ignoring my query. "What is it though; I know it's something from Japan."

I smiled faintly at her level of fascination. "Well, it's something called a 'microwave'; I got the idea to make one after the food went cold a couple days ago."

"Micro…wave?" Megumin looked confused as she tried to piece together the name and its relation to its function. "…so, it…heats things up…using waves?" She answered with a bit of hesitance.

I smiled as I stared at her in slight astonishment. "Yeah, good guess."

Megumin smiled childishly.

"Still trying to wrap my head around the heating element though," I said, stroking my chin. "That aside," I looked at Megumin, "what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Ah, oh…well"—she smiled proudly once more—"I bought land."

"Oh, you bought—YOU BOUGHT LAND?!"

Seeing my reaction, Megumin scoot back and gave a nervous grin. "I-I bought the land around the Demon King's castle."

I raised my brow as I calmed down. "Why'd you do that?"

"Kazuma, don't you remember; the place is filled with manatite deposits. If we can get a hold of that, then I could cast Explosion as many times a day as I want."

I facepalmed. I knew it had to be such a childish reason, but it wasn't all bad; acquiring such a vast quantity of manatite could provide a steady income outside of the inventions.

"Ok…how much did you spend—or rather, how much of **my** money did you spend?"

Megumin averted her eyes as I stared at her. "One, one billion…"

My jaw dropped as I looked down despondently. When I looked back up, I was scowling at Megumin, slowly extending my hands out towards her.

"W-Wait, Kazuma," she said, sliding back some more. "I made a deal with Iris."

I stopped. "Iris?"

She nodded. "Originally, the representative offered us a 30:70 split for the manatite and 1.5 billion for the land ownership; I was obviously gonna turn down the whole deal, but Iris managed to give us a 70:30 split and drop the price to one billion."

I was still frowning at Megumin, but I sat back and sighed. "You should've told me before you did something like this."

Megumin looked down with genuine remorse. "I'm, I'm sorry, Kazuma; I wanted it to be a surprise."

Seeing her look so sad made my anger melt away. "Well, it **was** a surprise…anyways, nothing I can do about it now." I crossed my arms and gave a faint smile.

Megumin smiled and leapt forward, hugging me.

"I take it the whole area is gonna be mined then?" I asked, gently pushing her away from me.

She sat up and nodded. "Part of the reason the price was so steep was because the capital was looking to claim the area themselves."

"_Obviously…controlling that amount of manatite would be a boon to anyone who held it."_

Megumin continued. "There was a lot of 'red tape' involved, so I let Darkness handle it."

"Ugh, why would you do that to Darkness; I know she's a glutton for punishment, but I don't think she's into **that** kind."

Megumin giggled. "She offered to help; I wouldn't willingly put her in that situation, Kazuma."

"Well it's good to see you guys are being so amicable with each other again."

She looked away; a pained expression filled her face. "I…I told you we were ok."

Feeling a tinge of regret, I scratched my head and also looked away. "Sorry."

The front door opened and Aqua stepped in, Irene not far behind her.

"Thanks for your help, Irene," She said with a smile.

Irene bowed. "It's no issue whatsoever, Aqua-sama; gardening is part of housekeeping so it's also a duty of a maid. Shall I prep a bath for you?"

Aqua's smile grew as she beamed with happiness. "Please do!"

With a short nod, Irene turned to us and bowed deeply. "Megumin-sama, Satou-sama, is there anything I can get you before I prep a bath for Aqua-sama?"

Me and Megumin exchanged looks. Megumin answered. "No, that's ok, I think we're fine for now."

With that response, Irene once again, bowed and left towards the bathroom. Aqua approached us.

"Hey, what are you two newlyweds doing?" She asked with a mocking grin.

Both of us grew embarrassed, Megumin slightly more so. "Nothing," I replied. "Megumin was just telling me about a land purchase she made."

"Oh?" Aqua looked at Megumin. "Where'd you get land?"

"The area around the Demon King's castle."

Aqua crossed her arms. "Hmm, why'd you do that?"

"The manatite," I answered.

"Ah, that's right; that place was chock-full of it. But what're you planning on using that much manatite on?"

"We're selling it."

Aqua looked at me derisively. "Kazuma, aren't you rich enough; perhaps you should consider making a generous donation to the Axis—"

"As if. Look, right now we're well off, but you know how easily something like that can turn around. I don't wanna have all my eggs in one basket; the product licensing with Vanir has been going pretty well, but I don't know if it'll always be like that."

"Hmm, good thinking; after all, you can't trust a devil."

"Bold of you to say that; if you were more useful in that aspect—or any for that matter, maybe I wouldn't have had to."

Aqua gasped, she appeared as if she was gonna fire back a retort, however, she didn't. "Kazuma, you know my birthday is coming up; there's several things you still owe me."

"Tch, why do you suddenly have a good memory when it comes to things like this?"

Aqua smiled proudly. "By the way, where's Darkness?"

"Ah, she went to settle some matters regarding the land purchase for me," Megumin replied.

Irene returned. "Aqua-sama, the bath is ready."

"Thanks, Irene," Aqua said, smiling once more. She turned back to me and flicked her hair. "Well I'm off to bathe so don't bother me."

"Uhh, sure."

After Aqua left, Megumin turned to me. "Kazuma, do you wanna go on our daily?"

"Hmm, well, I **was** gonna finish this, but since I'm kinda stuck at the moment, sure, why not?"

"I'll have the bath ready when you return, Megumin-sama," Irene remarked.

"Umu, thanks."

As we walked towards the usual spot, Megumin grabbed my hand. I looked over; catching my glance, she smiled.

"Kazuma, when are you gonna follow the path of explosions with me?"

"Heh, I think it's gonna have to wait a bit longer; after all, I recall someone choosing another class for me."

She gave an embarrassed smirk. "Y-You have the Adventurer class; you can always learn it."

"Would've been easier if I could get more skill points though," I said with a sigh.

"Kazuma, the Smithing class gives five skill points per level."

"Huh, really?"

"Umu, typically speaking, advanced classes give more since their skills require more points to level or obtain; however, classes that specialize in life skills also get a large amount of points per level."

"Why though, I mean I understand advanced classes, but I don't even know what the smithing class is all about."

Megumin turned to me with a bewildered look on her face. "Huh, how don't you know?"

"Whaddaya mean?"

She shook her in disbelief. "Kazuma, life classes are every bit as important as combat classes; in the village we're taught this. If you level up skills pertaining to the class—things like smithing, metallurgy, crafting, repairing, etc. it'll rank your class and allow you to make better equipment."

"Sounds like the same effect for just leveling the skills though."

She shook her head once more. "Class upgrades level all the pertaining skills at once and give immediate bonuses to successes and the quality of work. Since there's so many skills under the umbrella of a single life class the amount of points you get per level is as high as the advanced combat classes."

"Did you know this when you picked it?"

She smirked as she looked out the corner of her eye.

I smirked as well; though Megumin would act childish a good portion of the time, times when she showed her vaunted intelligence often impressed upon me.

"Here we are," She said.

Going through routine, Megumin let off a powerful explosion over the scenery. This time, however, was different; everything about it was perfect; the sound, the shape, the intensity, even the reverberations hit with just enough force to instill excitement.

"Perfect," I said, smiling as I felt its effects.

Megumin fell to one knee panting, she was also smiling.

"It felt different this time," I said. "Everything about it was perfect."

"Ha, I'd expect no less; after all, I finally mastered Explosion."

"Oh, you just saying that or—"

Megumin proudly whipped out her adventurer's card and gave it to me.

"Oi, level 55, when'd you gain so many levels?!"

"Huh, I thought you knew?"

"Knew—how was I supposed to know **this**?!"

"It was during the battle against the Demon King's daughter."

"_Ah, that's right; not only did she get the finishing blow on the Demon King's daughter, she also nearly wiped out the entirety of the Demon Army in the process."_

I continued examining her card.

"_100 skill points available…this girl…"_

As I scrolled down to "Explosion" I noticed a small star and the word, "Mastered" beside it; I clicked it and its associated stats filled the surface. Cast time, maxed; Attack Power, maxed; Mana Consumption, maxed; Range, maxed. There was nothing else to be leveled on it; Megumin was **actually** a master of the spell, Explosion.

"What are you gonna do now?" I asked as I handed her back the card.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you have a hundred skill points to spend and nothing to spend it on; don't you think it's time for you to—I don't know, learn a new spell or put some points into mana?"

Even though I expected her to immediately reject the idea, Megumin stayed silent; she bore the same face she gave me during the end of the Crimson Demon Trials; the same one she bore when the same situation arose.

"Ah, just forget I asked," I said, waving it off.

"Kazuma," She said, her voice serious. She looked at me with a sense of fear in her eyes, like she was stepping into the unknown.

"Really, Megumin, just forget I—"

"Can you teach me?" She interrupted.

I froze.

She quickly looked away.

"You don't"—I sighed—"you don't have to if you don't feel like it; I was merely giving a suggestion."

"…Explosion magic is the best…right?" She stared at me as if looking for confirmation.

"Of course…and you're the Master of Explosion magic."

"That'll never change."

I gave a faint smile.

"So, teach me something else."

Once again, I froze as I stared in astonishment. "Megumin, I already told you—"

"I want to be useful!" she yelled. "I want to be useful…to you; I love Explosion magic, but I can't…please…"

I felt as if she was requesting me to assist her in committing suicide.

She stuck out her adventurer's card and stared at me with determination, her eyes glowing red. I stared at her for a couple moments, and then reached out to grab the card; her hands trembled the closer I drew. Finally, I stopped and stared at her once more.

"Megumin, this isn't like—"

"Kazuma…I **want** this…please."

I took a deep breath. Something so simple, yet it was perhaps one of the most difficult things ever asked of me.

"First of all, you'll need some mana." I transferred some of my own into her.

Megumin stood up waiting with an anxious expression.

I cleared my throat. "We'll do something basic; I'll teach you Freeze."

"Freeze," Megumin repeated. She gripped her staff tightly and nodded.

Scrolling through her list, I could see a variety of different skills; I kept scrolling until I reached Freeze. I looked up at her, she stared back trembling, after taking a deep breath, she nodded. As I was about to press it, I stopped; I turned the card around to her.

"This is you; **you** need to do it."

Megumin swallowed deeply, her finger slowly extending towards the skill, Freeze. As she was about to press it, she stopped and whimpered, "Kazuma, please…help me."

I was crushed by how difficult this was for her; in truth, I no longer wanted her to go through with it, but once Megumin was determined to do something, she always saw it through; she wouldn't back down. I sighed and took my place behind her, I grabbed her trembling hand and slowly pressed on the skill. The confirmation screen came up.

Megumin looked at me with tears in her eyes, I stared at her; finally, she nodded once more. I let out another sigh and pressed the "confirm" button. Megumin froze and a moment later she fell to her knees gasping. She broke out into tears as I knelt down and consoled her.

"Megumin, why?"

She shook her head and wiped her face of the tears. Shooting up angrily, she turned away from me, yelling, "FREEZE!"

A moment later an explosive blast of icy wind knocked us several feet back. Coughing from the force, we stood up in bewilderment.

"What the hell was that?" I said, looking at her.

"I, I don't know; I just used it and…"

"It exploded; Freeze is **not** supposed to explode."

"M-Maybe I just didn't get it right; I'll try again!"

Megumin stood up once more and yelled, "FREEZE!"

And again, the results were the same.

As we got up coughing once again, Megumin shot up yet again and angrily yelled, "FREEZE!"

Needless to say, she tried several more times and every single time, it bore the same results; a small icy explosion.

Megumin collapsed to her knees and began laughing.

I stared at her with concern. "Oi, you ok, Megumin?"

"Kazuma," she said, still chuckling slightly, "I think I just figured out what I wanna do."

"Oh?"

Megumin got up. "Teach me more magic." Her eyes glowing a bright red and her face no longer bore regret or fear; in fact, it was radiant and determined.

The next one I taught her was, Tinder. Once more the spell resulted in an explosion, this time, it was a fiery one; less concussive force but more heat behind it.

Megumin smiled excitedly, she turned back to me. "More, Kazuma, more!" She said happily.

"Ok, ok, but, hey, aren't you getting tired though; you just let off a couple spells and you're still standing, seems kinda odd."

"Hmm, I feel a little bit tired, but I'm not casting Explosion; I'm genuinely trying to cast these spells, but they just keep exploding."

Then it dawned on me; Megumin's never used any other spell but Explosion. For years, it's the only thing she focused on, practiced, lived; of course learning any other spell would be an issue. For anyone it might cause varying levels of trouble, but particularly for Megumin, whose mind is full only for the love of explosions, it's only natural the results would be as such.

"Alright then, here's the next one."

I taught her Create Wind, Earth, and then Water; EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. EXPLODED.

Megumin stumbled back and began laughing once more. "Kazuma, this is…this is the best, yes"—she whipped around towards me—"I know now what I need to do. My vision was so short, how couldn't I see it?!" She laughed hysterically.

If anyone saw Megumin now, they'd think she was actually crazy…in fact, I was starting to think that.

"Megumin, what the hell are you going on about?" I asked, slightly concerned with her behavior.

She flicked her mantle as she struck a pose. "I will become a **true** master of Explosion magic; today, Kazuma, you just witnessed the birth of a new type of Explosion magic; ELEMENTAL!"

As those words came out of her mouth, it sent a shiver down my spine. _"My god, what have I brought upon this world?"_

"Now then," she said, her eyes narrowing on me, "fill me up, Kazuma; the next one is gonna be a real Explosion."

"First of all, phrasing and second, there's no way I have enough mana to give you."

She instantly looked deflated.

"Actually…" I walked over to her and grabbed her hand, placing my ring over hers.

Like before, the rings split open. We could hear each other's heartbeat and hear each other's thoughts.

Megumin smiled at me, and even though her lips didn't move, I heard her say, "Thank you". She placed her head on my chest as the rings began to release the mana within their manatite cores. After several minutes, Megumin stepped away.

"Thank you, Kazuma," She said once more.

"Umu, I'm kinda curious to see what you got in store; so, let's see it, Master of Explosion."

"Humph." Megumin turned around and flicked her mantle once more. After standing silently for a couple of seconds, she took a deep breath, and thrust her staff into the air, chanting:

"Winds of the farthest north come forth and coalesce into a maelstrom of chaos. I, the Master of Explosions, the summoner of ruin, the aspect of destruction, beseech you. Combine with my deep crimson and let loose a wintry howl. I seek not a gentle coat or the breath of your steely gaze; give me your fangs, your claws, your daggers and rain down upon my enemies. I call to you! Now, manifest! BOREAL EXPLOOOSION!"

In an instant, the temperature around us dropped and high above the sky an icy wind combined into a swirling vortex. The winds howled as they continued to wrap chaotically around themselves. Megumin dropped to her knee as she struggled to maintain the spell, gritting her teeth as her eyes flared in response.

A moment later, the winds completely crystalized and then shattered with a thunderous explosion. The next second, thousands of sharpened ice blades rained in every direction, piercing trees and nearly every object they came in contact with. Without thinking, I quickly grabbed Megumin, and ducked into a small alcove. After several more seconds, the icy hail finished.

I looked out in shock as my eyes met with the devastating effects of the newly created spell.

"Insane," I muttered.

Megumin smiled weakly; her tone just as meek. "It's…beautiful."

As I turned back to look at her, I could see she was passed out. Not only did she use Explosion once again, but she even managed to combine it into a whole new spell, not to mention with such short notice; I was starting to see why she was called the Genius of the Crimson Mages.

After that, I returned to the mansion with Megumin on my back (as per usual).

"Welcome back," Irene said as she opened the door. "I see Megumin-sama is incapacitated at the moment; this isn't due to your brutish nature, is it, Satou-sama?"

I frowned.

Aqua, who was reclining on the nearby armchair, laughed. "No, Irene, I think they just went out for Megumin's Explosion daily—although saying that…"

"Oi, that's enough," I said, placing Megumin down the couch.

I let out a breath of relief and plopped down beside her, slumping down as I did.

"You seem quite tired, Satou-sama, should I draw a cold bath?"

"You mean hot?"

"That's what I said."

"…" I ignored Irene and sighed once more.

"What's wrong?" Aqua said; she was eating a parfait; I assumed the accursed maid made it for her.

"Oh, that looks pretty good—"

"Should I make you one, Satou-sama?"

"Eh, no, I have a feeling you might do something to it."

"Nonsense; if I had intentions to do so, I would just tell you."

"_Oi, what an impertinent bitch."_

Despite my protest to the contrary, Irene left to the kitchen to make me one.

"So, did anything happen between you two?" Aqua reiterated as she took a bite out of the dessert.

"Ah, no, not really; just Megumin—hey, did you know she was level 55 already?"

"Hmm, oh yeah; I'm level 49, and I think Darkness is…44?"

"H-How? I mean I guess I can understand **you**, but Darkness?"

"We did a lot of work during the fight against the Demon King's daughter; all while you were out lounging around."

"Hey, I take offense to that; I was kidnapped."

"Excuses, excuses, Kazuma."

I frowned at her.

"Anyways, you were gonna tell me something about Megumin?"

"Ah, was I; now I suddenly forgot. Sorry, guess you're just gonna have to go on not knowing."

Aqua knit her brow and pouted. "Must've not been that important then."

"Umu."

Her eye twitched. "Kazuma!"

"Kazuma?" Megumin said, slowly opening her eyes.

"Hey, you finally awake?" I said, smiling at her.

"Ugh, I feel drained."

Irene returned with my parfait. "Here you go." As she was about to hand it to me, she quickly turned and presented it to Megumin.

"Oh, thanks, Irene," Megumin sat up slightly, and taking the dessert from her, began eating.

I frowned, once again sighing at the situation. Irene smirked as she returned to the kitchen once more.

Megumin looked at the parfait and then at me. "Want some?" She said, smiling somewhat shyly.

"Umu, sure," I quickly took the spoonful she had prepared.

She stared at me with a measure of surprise.

"What," I said, "you expected to be afraid of eating something you took a bite of? Pfft."

"N-No, I, I just, I just didn't expect you to—to take so much!"

"Oh?"

"Say, Megumin," Aqua interrupted, "did anything different happen between you two today?"

"Huh, what are you"—Megumin looked at Aqua and then stared at me—"w-what are you telling Aqua?!"

"Huh, why are you getting so flustered, are you dumb; like I'd ever tell Aqua about any…stuff between us."

"Huh?!" Aqua shouted, sitting up angrily. "How come?"

"What are you, some pervert on top of being a useless, freeloading goddess?"

"Tch, it's not like I'm asking for details; I just wanna know if you guys are doing lewd things so I'd have something to talk about with the guys at the guild."

Both of us stared at Aqua disapprovingly.

"And you wonder why we never tell you anything," I said, shaking my head.

"Ah," Megumin said. She struggled to fully sit up, so I gave her some mana. "There **was** something magnificent that happened today."

Aqua smiled and began listening.

"Tea and biscuits," Irene said, coming back from the kitchen. She placed the tray on the table centered, but slightly out of my reach. "I'll excuse myself."

"Please do," I said with mild spite.

Seemingly unaffected by remark, she left.

Megumin continued. "I created a new class of Explosion magic; elemental."

"Huh?" Aqua said; prepping a cup of tea. "How?"

"Ah, well, she—"

"I learned new spells!" Megumin interjected somewhat proudly.

Aqua smiled and clapped. "Our little Megumin is finally growing up." She sipped some of her tea as she grabbed some of the crackers.

"Aqua, please don't treat me like I'm some child."

"Please don't," I said, "if you do, I'll start to have lingering regrets."

Megumin frowned at me.

"Does that mean you'll actually start using spells other than Explosion?" Aqua asked.

"Of course not! The spells I learned are merely the foundation for my new explosion spells."

**Part 2**

"Meaning?"

I answered. "Meaning, she won't stop using explosions…unfortunately."

Megumin frowned at me once more. "Kazuma, why are you saying that so dejectedly; you're an explosion connoisseur; you should be happy to know that new explosion spells are on the horizon."

"If they're anything like the one you pulled off earlier, then I'm afraid; Explosion is scary enough as it is, and its effects are instant; this new one goes on for far longer than I care to know."

"It still needs some fine-tuning; I agree with you there, but you have to admit, it **was** a beautiful sight."

"Well, it **was** like nothing I've seen yet, so, in that regard, perhaps."

"By the way, Kazuma," Aqua said, sitting back in the chair. "I've noticed you're building something else from Japan; what is it this time?"

"Ah, it's—"

"A 'reheat box'," Megumin interjected.

"A microwave," I corrected, slightly annoyed.

Aqua sat up excitedly. "A microwave; that's what we were missing. There's been so many times I wanted to have a warm glass of milk at night and could never get it; now, with a microwave, it'll be possible."

"You know, you could've just used the stove—wait, that's it," I said, jumping up, "the heating element could use a smaller version of what the stove uses." I smiled, basking in my "eureka" moment.

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said, tugging on my shirt.

"Hm, what is it, Megumin?"

"How about the…umm, what was it called…the…the—"

"The A/C?"

"The A/C's, that's it; what about those, you said we were all getting one."

"Ah, right. You know, thinking about it, Vanir must've already completed a couple more. Maybe we should pass by later and see."

"Hmm, doesn't sound like a bad idea," Aqua said, reclining once more. "I'd like to see what that lich has been up to since the barrier's gone down."

"Well, I'm gonna take a bath," I said.

Aqua shot a glance at Megumin.

"W-What are you looking at me for, Aqua?" She remarked in embarrassment.

Aqua gave a sly smirk. "Oh please, this wouldn't be the first-time you guys have taken a bath together."

"I'm kinda uncomfortable that you're ok with this," I stated bluntly.

"Kazuma, you two seem to forget that I'm a goddess; as such, the concept of sexuality and nakedness doesn't bother me like it does you two. As long as love shared between to individuals is lawful and doesn't involve undead or devils, I'm absolutely fine with it."

"Doesn't stop you from running your mouth at the guild though."

"I know how to tell a good story; you always seem to wonder why I always have a crowd around me."

"Yeah, but I don't think it has anything to do with spinning a good story. In any case, I didn't say I was heading to take a bath as an invitation; I was simply saying—"

"Is it a problem though?" Megumin interrupted.

Both of us stared at her.

She continued. "I-I mean, Aqua's right; it wouldn't be our first time…and…I'm also…kinda…I NEED A BATH TOO!" Megumin shouted hurriedly, her face and ears growing red.

Aqua raised a brow and looked at me. "You still need to defeat the other Demon Kings and their God, so no funny business; I won't be able to take care of kids, Kazuma."

"Even in the narrow chance I **did** have kids, you'd be the last person I'd leave 'em with."

"Huh, why?!"

I waved her off and headed to the bathroom; Megumin trailed after me.

"Are you really going?" I asked her, a bit surprised.

She nodded in determination. "We're married couples; taking a bath together should be a normal thing…right?"

"…I don't know if I'd call it normal, Megumin."

"Satou-sama," Irene said, stepping in front of us.

"What is it, Irene?"

"Are you headed to use the bath?"

"Umm, yeah, why?"

"Let me remove the bath salts then."

"Huh, no, that's fine, bath salts are—"

"I wouldn't like you to shrivel up, Slug-sama."

"Oi!"

Megumin giggled. "Irene, it's fine; we'll be…sharing the bath."

Irene's eyes widened in surprise. She gave a small cough and bowed. "Very well, Megumin-sama; I'll try to not disturb you." With that, Irene left towards the living room.

After that, both of us entered the familiar setting of the bathroom. As I glanced over at Megumin, I remembered the first time we both shared a bath, the trouble that ensued, and the amount of time that's passed between now and then; the circumstances are so different. If someone told me that Megumin would willingly enter the bath with me in the future, I would've probably died of laughter.

I undressed and Megumin stared as if she was entranced.

"Hey, it's kinda weird if you stare so intently."

"Huh—oh, sorry," She said, quickly turning away. She began to undress, but tentatively glanced over at me as she did.

"_Why is she acting so timid; where did the all the boldness and assertiveness she had, go? Her attitude seems to have reverted after that night I did stuff to her._ Hey, Megumin, you ok?" I asked as I wrapped a towel around my waist.

Megumin panickily replied, "Y-Yeah—of course, why wouldn't I…be ok?" Her eyes darted away from my own, but slowly traced back every few moments.

I stared at her some more and then smirked. _"Did my actions destroy her self-confidence?"_ I stepped towards her; Megumin leaned back defensively, slowly covering herself. My smirk grew to a grin. _"Yeah, I think that's it…"_

"W-What are you doing, Kazuma?" She asked, desperately trying to avoid my gaze.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "You're really cute when you're like this, Megumin."

She closed her eyes as her ears grew redder than what they already were. "S-Stop saying such stupid things, Kazuma; I know what you're trying to do."

"Oh, do you?" I said; I stepped forward until our skin was almost touching.

She swallowed deeply and faced me; her chest heaving as she pouted. "I-I know you, Kazuma; y-you won't…" Her voice squeaked away as she attempted to continue.

I reached out to her chest and she quickly flinched. I laughed loudly. She slapped my arm in frustration. "Why're you teasing me?!"

"Oh, don't you remember you did the same; now when suddenly the tables are turned you wanna act all meek?"

She stared at me, the attention a half-way mixture between angst and courage.

"Well then," I said, once more stepping close to her, "now **I'm** gonna enjoy watching you squirm a bit."

She pressed her back against the wall. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom proper.

"Sit," I said, reminiscent to how she used to tell me.

Megumin stared at me, but nervously complied. I took one of the nearby washcloths and tossed it in front of her, then I grabbed the bar of soap and tossed it on the cloth, finally, I sat down in front of her; face to face.

"What—"

I placed my finger on her lips. "I'm gonna wash you, Oujo-sama."

She slapped my hand away. "Kazuma, stop being so—"

I ran the cloth over her shoulder causing her to shudder abruptly. I smiled and began rubbing in the soap.

"Are, aren't you supposed to wash someone's back?"

"Umu, but I'm gonna give you a 'special' wash, Oujo-sama."

I could hear her gulp and feel her tenseness as I ran the cloth slowly over her slender arms. I stared at her with a smirk as I slowly drew back to her neck. I slowed down, pressing keenly beneath her collar bone; the washcloth straddling the edge of her towel.

Megumin's chest rose strongly, her breaths becoming more pronounced as her eyes narrowed in growing captivation.

She grabbed my arm weakly. "Kazuma…that's enough," She said, her voice slipping into a breathless moan.

"I didn't think you would get this excited, Megumin; I haven't even done anything." I was slightly surprised, but more fascinated by the effects of my modest foreplay.

At this point, she was completely entranced; I continued, washing her sensually, pressing firmly every time I drew close to the towel line.

"Let's get rid of this, shall we?" I softly tugged on her towel, causing it to slip off, exposing her chest.

I paused and stared at her; Megumin stared back feverishly. Though I expected her to become somewhat aroused, the amount she was showing was beyond what I imagined; the uncalculated response spurring my own excitement. _"Why was this girl becoming so easily excited?"_ I thought.

I pressed the washcloth to her breast and scrubbed, squeezing softly as I did. I was beginning to lose track of the main reason why I even started this; becoming more enamored in the sensation of feeling Megumin up, rather than cleaning her.

Megumin no longer held my arm in an attempt to stop me, rather, she held it as a form of support, both mentally and physically. As I moved the cloth lower, she crossed her legs shut. I could hear her breaths turning into pants as I now used my free arm to continue squeezing Megumin's small breasts, my other arm continuing lower.

Finally, she leapt on me and kissed me fiercely. After a few moments of this, I forced her onto her back, hovering over her.

"No, not yet," I said.

Even though I said this, I was eager to go; seeing Megumin so worked up had the effect of rousing me as well, but I wanted to tease her; I wanted to watch her squirm some more, as she did to me before. It wasn't merely for the satisfaction, or the boost to my ego, but also the previously stated reason; exciting her, excited me.

"No, please, Kazuma, that's enough; how long are you gonna keep this going?"

I grinned. "Till I'm satisfied."

Megumin frowned, her face still flustered with pleasure. She wrapped her legs around my waist and drew me close; the only thing separating our sensitives from each other being a thin towel.

"Da—Megumin, what the hell do you think—"

She smiled deviously; her boldness was returning. The towel was pressed firmly against her, the contour of my lower half wedged between her own; Megumin moaned as she began to grind against it. I quickly covered her mouth and looked towards the door; after several seconds, I looked back at her.

"You're being…too loud," I said as I tried to hold back the sense of pleasure that she was giving me.

Megumin pulled free from my other arm and wrapped herself completely against me; both her arms and legs holding my body tightly.

"Are you gonna get rid of yours as well?" She whispered breathlessly into my ear.

"_This is bad…I can feel myself slipping—and I honestly don't think there'll be anyone to stop me this time."_

It wasn't that I didn't wanna have sex with Megumin—quite the contrary, but for some reason, I felt it wasn't the right time; I didn't want to rush into it, I didn't want it to be a mere spur-of-the-moment thing; I felt I owed it to her, to make it right…for this girl who loved me so much.

As I felt the last vestiges of my resistance begin to wane, I hugged her tightly and with bated breaths whispered into her ear, "You deserve better".

At this, I instantly felt her tense up and then let go; when she did, she stared at me in complete astonishment, full embarrassment overtaking her. Megumin's boldness had disappeared as swiftly as it returned; she quickly took the towel and covered herself.

"Why…why did you say that?" She looked up at me as she asked.

I sat back, trying to calm myself down. "Cause it's true; I think we could've crossed-the-line a couple times already, but…I wanna do right by you."

Megumin looked down remorsefully. She crawled over to me and laid her head on my chest.

I always asked myself why I never willingly pushed myself to cross that point with her; it wasn't that I was scared to have sex…no—and while it was true I was nervous around the whole topic, I knew I would eventually follow through—hell, I almost did with Darkness. But when it came down to it, with Megumin, for some reason, I couldn't. However, that was my point exactly; I knew I could—I would, given the opportunity, but when it came to her, it was different; now I think I understood why.

The whole thing I found perplexing, I didn't consider myself a romantic; I had little interest in it, but for Megumin…I made an exception; she was my sole exception.

Suddenly, the door slid open with Aqua falling face-first through it; both of us stared blankly at her.

She laughed nervously as she got up and dusted herself off. "Ka—Megumin, uh, hi, how are you—"

"I knew it!" I yelled. "I knew you couldn't resist!"

"S-Stop saying it like I'm some sort of pervert! I only came by because I was concerned for Megumin's wellbeing!" She squealed.

"Wellbeing—what the hell do you think I'd do to her?!"

"I, I don't—I heard a lot of 'concerning' noises coming from here."

Megumin looked away, her face—once again—being consumed by embarrassment.

"Oi, I came to take a bath, so I'm gonna take one; get out!"

"Megumin," Aqua said in a similar tone she would use to call over Chomusuke, "why don't you take a bath later; I can take one with you if you'd like."

"S-Sorry, Aqua, b-but I fully intend to bathe with Kazuma, my…my husband."

Aqua stared at her worriedly, and then sighed; she then turned her attention to me. "Kazuma, I'll allow it, but one questionable noise from here and I'll curse you, I'm serious."

Figuring accepting Aqua's threat would appease her, I did. "Now hurry up and leave already," I said shooing her away.

She pouted, and then took one last worried glance at Megumin before leaving.

After the doors closed, I turned towards Megumin. "Hey, you really wanna take a bath?" I asked her.

She nodded and quickly ran behind me, grabbing the washcloth and pressing it to my back. As I expected her to begin, she laid her head on my back and embraced me.

"I love you, Kazuma."

I smiled faintly and after sighing, replied, "I love you too, Megumin."

The rest of the bath was uneventful.

Afterwards, we all decided to pay Wiz that visit. As we walked to the shop, Chomusuke meowed loudly from the protection of Megumin's robes while Zell hopped angrily on Aqua's head, flapping its stubby wings zealously.

Entering the shop, Chomusuke quickly leapt free from Megumin and ran towards the undead shop owner who was currently preoccupied stocking shelves. As Chomusuke purred and scratched at her heels, Wiz turned around.

"Oh, Kazuma-san, Megumin-san—Aqua-sama!" Wiz smiled nervously. "W-What can I do for you guys today?"

"Hey, Wiz, where's Vanir?" I asked, looking around.

"Oh, Vanir-san is in the back at the moment."

Aqua sat down in her usual seat. "Wiz," She said expectantly.

"Ah-Ah, right, Aqua-sama, right away." Wiz ran off to the back of the shop.

I sighed. "Aqua, you should really stop abusing Wiz like that."

"Like what?! That lich is lucky she's still around; serving me tea is the least she could do for me looking the other way."

"Sometimes I wonder who's the real goddess."

"Ah, moi knew he smelled something putrid." Vanir emerged from the back. "Brat, please don't bring trash within the shop; there's enough of it around with the shop owner's wayward tendencies."

Aqua shot up; just as she looked like she was about to do something, Zell nested itself on Vanir's head. "Tch!" She sat back down.

"Yo, Vanir, I was wondering if you've completed more A/C units."

Vanir, who was staring at Megumin, smiled and then looked to me. "Does the brat need some more? Moi assumes the constant steamy situations he and the Crimson Demon girl find themselves in is the culprit behind the warm nights."

Needless to say, this devil was more than adept at eking out embarrassment, it was no different this time as well; me and Megumin stood reddened by the announcement.

I cleared my throat. "Well…did you?"

Vanir smiled. "Of course. I assume thou had no problems with the prototype?"

"Umu, it's working great."

"Ah, moi has also gotten word about a land purchase the Crimson Demon girl made."

I looked at Megumin; she shrugged. I assume Vanir simply used his abilities to glean as much.

"The Demon King's castle was surrounded by vast quantities of manatite; is the brat looking to sell?"

"*Sigh* I can only assume you're asking because you know the answer already."

"Don't be boorish, boy. If thou are looking to sell the manatite, moi can be of great use."

"Manatite won't sell very well here; this is a town—"

"Who said anything about here? No, recently moi has decided to expand the shop's influence."

"Oh; don't you have enough trouble keeping **this** shop afloat though?"

"Only because of the blundering shop owner," Vanir replied with a frown.

Seemingly on cue, Wiz reappeared from behind the shop carrying the usual tray of biscuits and tea; she continued past us and placed it in front of Aqua with a reverent bow.

Refocusing his attention, Vanir continued. "Thou might've noticed that Zereschrute isn't around; indeed, moi has sent him to open up the new store in the capital."

"Isn't that a bad idea though, Zereschrute is a devil, right?"

"He also happens to be well-acquainted with the nobility of the kingdom; as such, his presence in the capital is of little worry."

"I see. So, how do you wanna do this then?"

"Simply put, once the manatite is extracted, have it sent to the shop in the capital; since thou have already entered into a contract splitting the proceeds, moi shall be lenient and take a meagre 20%."

"_Essentially turning the profits from sales into a 50:50 split for me; of course, he had to have known that from the start."_

Vanir handed me a small slip of paper.

"What's this?" I asked, unfurling it.

"The location of the shop." Vanir smiled widely. "The brat's future is blinding."

"Huh, what's that supposed to mean?"

Vanir laughed. "Moi charges for his divinations, brat."

I scoffed and waved him off.

Vanir handed me two large boxes near his feet; these were obviously the units and were just as heavy as I expected them to be.

"Oi, Aqua, Megumin, you each grab one," I said, struggling to maintain my grip on the two I had.

Megumin grabbed one and shook uncontrollably. "Pfft, this thing…is heavy," She said, straining under the weight.

Aqua continued drinking her tea as she harassed Wiz.

"Oi, Aqua!" I yelled once more.

"What?!" She replied angrily.

"Grab the damn"—the boxes shifted in my hand; with great effort, I readjusted them—"GRAB THE BOX!"

"Aqua, hurry; I don't know if I can hold onto this very long," Megumin said, her arms and knees beginning to tremble.

After getting Aqua to carry the box, we quickly headed back to the mansion; Irene answered the door. We rushed over to the table where we dropped the boxes onto, and then proceeded to collapse on the various seating arrangements around it.

"May I get you all something to drink?" Irene asked.

"Not a bad idea," Megumin said, panting.

"That'd be nice," Aqua replied.

"Sure," I added, taking a deep breath afterwards.

Irene bowed and headed to the kitchen.

"Gah, why are the climate control boxes so heavy?" Megumin questioned, stretching out on the couch as she did.

"A/C," I said breathlessly; I slumped down beside her.

"Wait, A/C?" Aqua said; she sat up in the chair. "Like an actual A/C?!" I believe Aqua just realized what was meant when we mentioned it earlier.

"Huh, didn't you know?" Megumin said as she reclined on my lap. "Kazuma, had these made some time before the Demon King battle."

Aqua beamed with happiness. "You mean I can finally have a nice, cool room?"

"Thank you," I said, frowning at her lack of gratitude.

"Right; thank you, Kazuma-san. But if you ask me, it was about time you made something that benefitted the rest of us and not only you."

"Umu, it's a good thing I wasn't then."

Aqua knit her brow at my remark.

Irene returned with lemonade; however, my cup was filled with mostly lemons and ice.

"Oi, what's this?" I said, staring at her.

"Lemonade, Satou-sama," She answered, her tone completely serious.

"No, try as I might, I believe this is anything **but** lemonade."

"Ah, forgive me, you're right, Satou-sama; it seems I've forgotten a crucial ingredient." Irene grabbed the pitcher of cold water and poured more into my cup.

"Thanks, Irene—"

"One second, I'm not done yet."

"Huh, what are you—"

She scooped up some sugar and mixed it into the drink. "Enjoy," She said with a slight bow.

I took a sip and instantly spit it out. "It's bitter!"

Irene looked down at the container of sugar and spun it around. "Forgive me, I made a mistake; this was salt."

"Bullshit, you did that on purpose!"

"Satou-sama, I wish you would stop believing my very existence is emphatically-driven to making your life as miserable as possible."

"Oi!"

She looked away with a tiny hint at a smirk.

"_Is this chick being cheeky with me?! Goddammit, why am I always the subject of attention when it comes to odd women? _Oi, Irene, I'd appreciate it if you stopped."

Irene looked at me sternly and cleared her throat. "Satou-sama, I'm the maid of this house; I wouldn't go out of my way to cause anyone discomfort—especially the head of the house."

I stared at her, and then quickly looked at Megumin and Aqua for confirmation; they stared back at me with an absolute lack of support.

"Argh, forget it," I said, placing the cup of "lemonade" down on the table.

"Was the lemonade not to your liking, Satou—"

"Of course not; the thing's practically saltwater!"

"Should I get you some water then; it'd be difficult for me to mess up on plain water."

"I'm sure you'd find a way—no, I'm good."

Megumin handed me her lemonade, and then turned her attention to Irene. "Can you get me some more lemonade, Irene?" She asked with a gentle expression.

Irene bowed deeply; her face unequivocally stoic. "Of course, Megumin-sama."

When Irene left, Megumin looked at me with a juvenile grin.

"You know she intentionally does those things, don't you?" I said, frowning at Megumin while I sipped away at her lemonade.

She slowly averted her eyes; a smirk still visibly expressed on her face.

"Do you like the idea of her being mean to me?"

"Doesn't feel so good when it's done to you, huh, Kazuma?" Aqua interjected.

"Tch—I'm not asking **you**, so why don't you keep your mouth shut?"

Aqua stuck her tongue out. "Personally, I think it's nice to have another woman around here who doesn't take your garbage personality to heart."

"Aren't you a walking bundle of ironies; are you even aware of half the stuff you say?"

Aqua ignored me, continuing to slowly sip away at her drink.

"Your lemonade," Irene said, returning from the kitchen. She handed it to Megumin.

"Thank you, Irene."

She nodded. "I'll be in the garden, should you need me."

"Ah, I'll go with you," Aqua said, getting up happily.

"Oi, Aqua, try not to plant anything dangerous; I'm not tolerating any other oddity!" I yelled as both she and Irene walked out the front.

The door closed and Megumin and I were once again, alone.

She looked up at me and smiled.

I raised my brow. "What's with that look?" I asked.

"Can you put the…A, C in my room?"

I sighed and smiled. "Sure, let's go."

After lugging the heavy unit upstairs, Megumin opened her door and let me in. It was the second time in recent memory that I was here; much hadn't changed from my last visit. Megumin followed me as I walked over to the window and placed the A/C unit within; the opening was too wide.

"Damn," I said, placing it on the floor. I scratched my head as I stared at the issue.

"Is it too big?" She asked.

"Erm, the window is too wide…ha, I think I got it." I picked up the unit and placed it in the window once more. "Megumin, can you hold it in place?"

"Uh, sure." She did so.

**Part 3**

I cast a combination of Create Earth and Water, and then followed up with a light application of Freeze; the loose gravel combined into a slurry. Following more dirt, it thickened to the consistency of something similar to concrete. After shaping it, Freeze solidified the mixture.

Placing my hands on my hips, I stepped back to admire my improvised work. "It's not a permanent fix, but it should hold for now; I'll get some concrete later."

Megumin stared at me with childlike wonder. "Kazuma, honestly, your ingenuity is astonishing sometimes."

I smiled proudly. "Yeah, sometimes I even surprise myself."

Megumin turned it on and stood in front as the chilled air blew onto her. "Mmm…nice and cool…haaah…" Megumin ran over to her bed and jumped on it.

As she lay enjoying the cooling room, I began to walk off.

"Where're you going?" She said, quickly sitting up.

"Hm, I'm leaving; you just wanted me to set up the A/C, right; or are you expecting something else?" I said with a suggestive smirk.

Megumin quickly looked away shyly. "Y-You already said—"

"I know what I said, and it wasn't anything about doing **absolutely** nothing."

Her eyes began to glow, and her ears reddened as a result.

I smiled, and then laughed at her embarrassment; teasing Megumin was fun.

"I, I wanted"—her voice tapered to a whisper—"to…sleep together."

Her coyness triggered an emotive response in me; I grew flushed in embarrassment. "Uh…sure."

Megumin's bed was large enough to fit all of us should a situation ever arise; fitting the two of us was no problem. I climbed on and laid down, Megumin quickly scoot over to my side and lay staring at me.

Now **I** was avoiding her gaze.

"Kazuma," She said.

"Hm?" I steadied my sight on her.

"My mother told me married couples go on something called a 'honeymoon'."

Oddly enough, the topic of a honeymoon was more calming to me than lying in silence next to Megumin.

"Ah, a honeymoon; yeah, married couples **do** usually do that. You **do** know why they go though, right?"

Megumin glanced away briefly; she nodded timidly.

I gave her a mocking smile. "Why, you wanna go on one?"

She shifted slightly closer to me. "You know **I** wouldn't mind."

"You say that like **I **would."

She looked at me in surprise, it swiftly changed to confusion. "I thought…did you just say those—"

"I meant what I said, I still do."

"So…I don't understand."

I laughed lightly. "Don't think about it too much, Megumin; I don't really have a plan. All I know is when it **does** happen, I'll make sure to do right by you."

Megumin blushed deeply, her eyes brightening as well. "…when the time is…right…"

I flicked her forehead. She quickly winced, covering her head in response.

"Didn't I just say not to think about it too much?"

She pouted.

"Better question," I said, "is why **you** of all people say nothing about that maid's blatant harassment of me."

Megumin relaxed; a childlike smile cropped up on her face. "Why do **you** think that is?"

I raised my brow. "Oh, we're playing a game?"

She smirked and then nodded excitedly.

"Heh, sure, why not." I began to ponder her question. _"Why would Megumin, the most defensive of us—especially when it comes to me—allow someone to bother me so freely? _Do you know Irene from somewhere; maybe one of your 'thieving' escapades?"

Megumin shook her head. "No."

"_So, she doesn't know her. Maybe Darkness asked her to convince me; makes sense, Darkness definitely knows Irene. Maybe her and Darkness cut a deal? _Did you and Darkness make a deal?"

"Deal; what for?"

"To convince me to hire her."

Megumin giggled. "Why would Darkness ask something like that of me; anyways, no, no such deal."

"_So, no deal with Darkness either…_How about Aqua?"

"Nope." Megumin smiled widely; she seemed to be enjoying herself.

I sighed and closed my eyes in deep thought. _"Think, Kazuma, you __**know**__ Megumin; why would she be so open to someone so hostile to me? No deals made and no prior associations; Irene is a complete stranger to her with no attachments, there should be no incentives to help her besides just plain altruism. I wouldn't say Megumin is indifferent to the suffering of strangers, but then again being completely selfless is not something she's really known for."_

"Do you want a hint?" Megumin said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Is it gonna cost me anything?"

Although I said it as benign as possible, I assumed Megumin took it another way seeing as she quickly blushed once more. She shook her head, but there was some hesitance to it; this girl.

"Ok, so what's the hint?"

"Kazuma, you're a pervert."

"Oi."

"That's the hint."

"Are you making fun of me right now, you little brat?"

Megumin smiled playfully.

I sighed and closed my eyes to think once more. _"No prior connections, no attachments, no deals made…and I'm a pervert…is it simply on a whim; did she just take a liking to Irene? No…the hint is I'm a pervert"_—thinking it, wound me up slightly—_"I don't get it; does she think I'd do something—no, that's it!" _

I grinned. "It's because I wouldn't do anything to Irene, or rather, she wouldn't do anything to me; you wanted a maid"—I gave a short chuckle at the realization—"you wanted a maid that wouldn't tempt me; one that wouldn't be a threat to you. You **do** know that's jealously, right?"

Megumin seemed to be seriously astonished at the declaration; she shirked back some, her demeanor becoming increasingly angst filled.

"I," she said, her eyes darting away from me, "I-I didn't…I—"

"Did you plan it?" I asked calmly.

Megumin, who was now almost in a panic-stricken state quickly replied, "No—I, I just"—she slowly pulled down her hat in shame—"I just…I'm sorry…are you mad at me?" She raised the rim just enough to look up at me.

I smiled weakly. "I'm a bit surprised, if I'm honest; then again, can't say I don't really expect this from you."

She looked down; Megumin appeared to be really disappointed in herself.

I grabbed her hat and lifted it off; she briefly stared at me in shock. "Megumin," I said, taking a deep breath, "while I may be good at taking risks, I don't really like 'em; I placed everything on the line for you, I took the biggest gamble I've ever taken in my life; I did it for you, you understand?"

"Kazuma." Her eyes narrowed as tears began to stream from them. She placed her head on my chest and squeezed me tightly. "I'm sorry," she said through her sobs, "I'm just…I'm just afraid that you'll try to leave again, that you'll…leave me—"

"Stop saying dumb things." I hugged her back. "I'm already too invested in you, Megumin; can't you see that?"

I felt her embrace tighten slightly; she hesitantly looked up at me, her eyes glistening with warm, flowing tears.

"I'm glad I stayed…I'm glad I was able to stay with you all…I'm glad I was able to stay with **you**. I won't leave you; I promise."

Megumin pressed her head to my chest once more, her ear over my heart; I could feel her relax in my arms. "Kazuma, I'm glad I fell in love with you," She said with a feeble smile.

I froze momentarily and stared at her; my chest burned. I pressed Megumin closer to me and closed my eyes. If she were to ever leave me, I didn't know if I could ever recover from it; if my first rejection caused me to become who I was now, I wondered what would the loss of the one girl I truly loved, do to me. As I opened my eyes to look at her, I noticed the slow and quiet breathing, the relaxed expression, and the gentle smile she wore; Megumin had fallen asleep.

I closed my eyes once more and smiled. _"So am I, Megumin."_

_**-That evening**_

"Megumin," Aqua said, knocking on the door. "Are you in there; Kazuma's not in his room."

I opened the door.

"Kazuma, what are—did you guys—"

"Does it always have to be? Me and Megumin just fell asleep after I installed the A/C."

Aqua raised her brow in slight doubt. "Well…dinner's ready; Irene cooked since you were nowhere to be found. By the way, you still gotta install the A/C in **my** room so don't forget!"

"Why don't **you** do it?"

"So, Megumin gets special treatment; I see."

"I know this is a bit of a tall ask, but stop being stupid, Aqua."

She gasped and then pouted angrily.

"Look, I'll install yours later. I'll wake Megumin, and head down for dinner; see you there."

As Aqua was about to say something else, I shut the door, and walked over to the bed.

"Oi, Megumin," I said, rocking her gently.

She stirred and slowly opened her eyes, stretching as she sat up. "Kazuma, what happened?" She said, looking around wearily.

I quickly pulled her close and whispered into her ear, "Me and you had sex."

Megumin instantly perked up, turning a dark shade of red in the process.

I let go and laughed. "I'm just kidding."

She threw her pillow at me and then timidly looked down, grabbing the end of robes tightly.

I smiled, putting my hands on my hips. "Can't say I'm not tempted though…"

Megumin shot me an inadvertent gaze.

"Dinner's ready; they're waiting for us downstairs," I remarked as I stepped out the room.

As I sat on my bed, I stared at the door. _"Idiot Kazuma, I don't get him; how could he throw something like that out so casually, but freeze up when the opportunity presents itself?"_

I quickly changed into my casualwear and headed downstairs.

"Darkness," I said happily, "you're back!"

Darkness, who was seated at the table speaking with Irene, looked over; she appeared to be exhausted. "Ah, Megumin, sorry it took so long; I forgot how difficult these types of situation can be."

I took a seat beside her. "It's ok, I'm glad you could help me though; I don't know if I would've been able to do it without you."

Just then, Aqua and Kazuma came out of the kitchen with plates and trays of food; they placed them on the table and grabbed their seats.

"I had to check if there was anything wrong with the food," Kazuma said, frowning at Irene.

"Satou-sama, food was made for everyone; that would be poor planning on my part if everyone else were to become ill just for your sake."

Kazuma stared blankly at her, and then at us. "Really, does no one has anything to say about this? Fine, Irene, you're prohibited from making food—or drinks—or anything for that matter; in fact, don't do anything, just leave."

"Kazuma, stop being dumb; if Irene leaves, how are we supposed to eat?!" Aqua exclaimed.

"Irene, have you been trying to harm Kazuma?" Darkness queried.

"Of course not, Lalatina-sama; no harm has come to Satou-sama; however, he seems unsatisfied with the services I've been providing him."

"What services?! All you keep doing is making me miserable!"

I snickered.

"Oi, and why are **you** laughing, you're part of the problem."

"Satou-sama," Irene interrupted, "I assure you, the food and drinks are perfectly fine; this **is**, after all, the first time I've cooked for this house."

I glanced at Kazuma; he stared dubiously at Irene and then crossed his arms as he sat back in his chair.

"Someone, switch plates with me."

I rolled my eyes and handed him mine.

"Someone other than you; she probably assumed you'd be the one to hand over your plate."

I scoffed. "Kazuma, now you're just acting ridiculous."

"Darkness, give me your plate."

"What?" Darkness said in surprise. "Why?"

"Cause there's no way in hell she'd ever do anything to oujo-sama's food; yours is the safest one to bet on."

Irene smirked and then looked at Darkness. "Lalatina-sama, it's fine; I made a special plate for you."

"Then that's the one I'll have!" Kazuma interjected. "Darkness, you can keep your original plate. Give me her 'special' plate of food."

Irene stared at Kazuma, and then sighed. "Very well, Satou-sama." She withdrew Darkness' "special" plate of food from the nearby cart and handed it over to him.

He glanced up at her once more, and then took a bite of the food. "Ugh." Kazuma pushed the plate away. "What the hell is this; tastes like I'm eating unseasoned food."

"It's Lalatina-sama's meal of choice, rich in proteins and made with very little seasoning; it helps reinforce her strength of will. Satou-sama, each one of your plates was tailor-made to be eaten by its appropriate owner."

"…fine; I'll have my own." Kazuma pushed the "special" plate towards Darkness and slid his own in front of himself. Once again, he looked up at Irene; she stared back stoically. "Rice and curry," He said as he stared at it.

I interrupted. "Kazuma, if you're so worried, I can—"

"No, I'm sure she's thought of this."

Once again, I rolled my eyes.

Kazuma took a spoonful of the curry and ate it. After several seconds of chewing, he swallowed…then he went silent, slowly sitting back in his seat.

"Kazuma?" I said worriedly.

He shed tears as he covered his eyes and face.

"Kazuma, are you ok?" Darkness said with equal worry.

"Oi, Kazuma, is it too spicy?" Aqua queried.

Kazuma sobbed. "It's…just like ka-san used to make it."

"_Ka-san…Kazuma's mother. _Is it good—do you like it?" I quickly asked.

He wiped away his tears. "Yeah, it's good; it's not anything out of this world, but...I wasn't expecting that."

"I'm glad it made you cry…I mean brought tears to your eyes," Irene remarked.

Kazuma cleared his throat. "Sorry I doubted you."

"Oh? To hear such things from Satou-sama, surely it's worthy of praise; one might even wish to inscribe this on a tablet somewhere."

"Oi, don't carried away; I just gave you a compliment."

"Satou-sama, while a compliment is usually associated with good feelings, hearing it come from you makes my skin crawl; I feel molested."

"Oi, what's with you?! Tch." Kazuma glared at Darkness. "You."

"Me?" Darkness said, becoming somewhat worried at Kazuma's angry stare.

"You must've known that she acts this way!"

"I…Kazuma, I promise, Irene's never been so caustic to anyone in her life; definitely not while she was at our household."

"Forgive me," Irene interjected. "I'm may be honest to a fault; I've never had the need to be so openly unreceptive to someone. Satou-sama, this is a testament to just how awful you are as a creature—human."

"While I wouldn't go **as** far," Aqua said, "you're definitely pretty close with your assessment of Kazuma."

"Oi, go back to Heaven—go!"

With all the liveliness at that table, I couldn't help but giggle again. Though, I firmly rejected Irene's view of Kazuma, I could understand why she thought of him that way; at first glance, Kazuma didn't really give a friendly impression—it wasn't a terrible one either…just one that filled you with doubt; his actions—particularly when it came to women, however…

After we finished eating, Irene tended to the dishes and table. Aqua laid on the couch playing with Zell, while I sat in the nearby chair with Chomusuke. Kazuma was continuing his work on the reheat box; Darkness sat on the chair opposite me staring attentively at Kazuma's work.

"So, this applies heat to food put in it?" Darkness asked.

"Umu, that's right," Kazuma replied, keeping his eyes on his work.

I sat up quickly. "Hey, Darkness," I said, "guess what?"

She shifted her focus to me. "Hm, what is it, Megumin?"

I smiled proudly. "I learned new spells."

Kazuma interrupted. "You know, for someone who loves Explosion so much, you sure are taking quite a lot of pride in saying you learned other magic."

I knit my brow and pouted. "Kazuma, the other magic directly improves my Explosion magic; it's a noble sacrifice in the pursuit of the ultimate class of magic."

"Wait, what's going on?" Darkness said, actually paying attention.

"Megumin learned some new magic to make more dangerous explosions," Aqua replied trivially.

"Not more dangerous, Aqua; powerful and versatile," I corrected. "While Explosion remains the most powerful attack spell, I realized after mastering it, that it has…shortcomings." It hurt to say that.

Kazuma chuckled. "You just now realized that?"

Once again, I frowned at him. "You have something to say about Explosion magic, Kazuma; you know, I won't hold back if you talk bad about it, even if it's you."

"Right, right, you love Explosion magic. There," he said, flipping the device over. "I think it'll work now. Hey, Aqua wanna heat up some milk or something?"

"Hm, not a bad idea," she said, sitting up. "Irene!"

"Yes, Aqua-sama?" She said, popping her head out from the kitchen.

"Can you get me a glass of milk, please?"

Irene gave a nod and retreated into the kitchen once more.

A couple seconds later, she came out with the requested item and handed it to Aqua. Aqua promptly handed it to Kazuma, who inserted it into the reheat box. After shutting the door of the device, Kazuma pressed a couple buttons and the machine came to life. As it worked, it let out a droning sound; it made me slightly uncomfortable, but Aqua and Kazuma seemed to be completely unaffected by it, in fact, they seemed to be somewhat enjoying it. Darkness, on the other hand, stared at it in complete confusion.

After another minute or so, the box let out a loud beep and shut off.

Kazuma smirked. "Good, it seems to work; alright time to see if it actually heated it up." He opened the door of the device and grabbed the glass…and then instantly recoiled away, screaming, "Fuuuuuuuu—it's hot!" He grabbed his arm and stared at his deeply reddened palm, tears in the corner of his eyes.

"Heal," Aqua said nonchalantly. She stared into the box and frowned. "How am I supposed to drink something that hot, Kazuma?"

"Tch." Kazuma grumbled. "Guess it needs some tweaking; I need it to be more wave-like. Right now, it's basically acting like a high-powered Tinder."

"Why not just use mini explosions to heat it up?" I suggested.

"Do I even have to tell you how much of a bad idea that is? The last thing we need is more explosions."

Darkness reached into the device and grabbed the steaming glass of milk; as she held it, her face began to grow more relaxed, and then slip into a more pleasured expression.

"Would you quit that?" Kazuma said, grabbing the glass with a small tablecloth.

Darkness slumped over dejectedly; even though she held onto the glass for several seconds, her hands were barely anymore reddened than when Kazuma held it. Aqua promptly healed her.

"Hmm, I could probably create a magnetic coil if I had the materials."

"Oh, Kazuma, I'm surprised you know how it actually works," Aqua remarked.

"Well, not completely, but I know if I ran a current through something like copper it could become a heating element; microwaves use something called magnetrons—way more complicated and something I have no idea how to make."

"Is it really that difficult to create, Kazuma?" I asked.

"Hm?" he said, rubbing his chin. He looked up at me. "Ah, yeah, if I had something like the internet here, I could probably end up making anything with enough time."

"Inter…net?"

"Mhm," Aqua said, nodding with a smile. "It's this thing can share information instantly to any part of the world; you can find out about anything you want on there."

Kazuma nodded, confirming her explanation.

"That sounds amazing," Darkness said.

"Eh, now that I think about it, it is; guess it's easy to forget how good we had it over in my world; this one helps puts things in perspective."

I sat up; I was now interested in hearing more about this "internet". "Well, how does it work, this…internet?"

"Hmm, well you gotta have something that can connect to it; like a computer or a mobile device, some sort of connection from the device to a modem or router, and then an internet application."

I considered myself to be a smart individual, but the way Kazuma spoke about this completely foreign thing made my head spin; there were so many questions I had.

He continued. "Long story short, if you were able to connect to the internet you basically had communication and information at your fingertips; you could find anything on there."

Aqua smirked. "Yup, and a lot of the time Kazuma spent his looking at porn."

"Oi!"

"Porn? _What's porn? _Is that some type of information?"

"Nevermind that, Megumin," Kazuma said, waving it off; his face was slightly red.

"But—"

"It's not important; just something I…ahem…enjoyed on my off time."

"And you had plenty of off time," Aqua said with the same wily smirk.

Kazuma shot her a damning glare.

"Now, **I'm** interested," Darkness said.

"No, you're not, both of you; it's not important."

"Fine," I said, "if you won't tell me…" I turned to Aqua. "What's porn?"

"Aqua, don't you say a word."

She smiled proudly, crossing her arms in the process. "Kazuma, if you don't want them knowing about porn then maybe you shouldn't have lived such a decadent life."

"I'm serious, Aqua; if you say anything, I'll sell your raiment."

"You wou—"

"I would and I **will**; **don't** push me."

Aqua sighed. "Megumin, don't worry about it, it's not something someone like you should have any interest in anyways; mostly lonely guys like Kazuma sit around watching it."

"So, it's something you watch," I concluded. I began trying to piece together some clues and Kazuma caught onto this.

"Megumin, stop thinking about it—why are you even thinking about it, it has nothing to do with explosions—"

Aqua snorted. "Maybe not **her** version of explosions."

"Oi, when'd you get so openly talkative about this subject?!"

"Wait, other types of explosions?" Aside from the explosions I was familiar with, I only knew one other; I could feel my ears and face grow warm.

Aqua noted my flushed expression, and then turned towards Kazuma. "Kazuma, does she…"

He facepalmed and shook his head. "Look, Megumin, whatever you're thinking it is, it isn't; so, stop thinking about it."

I swallowed as I tried to clear my mind of what I was imaging it to be. "So, what is it then?"

"It's irrelevant; you'll never know because it can never exist here, because the internet will never exist here, so there's no point in knowing."

Darkness watched us in silence; she seemed to be trying to draw her own conclusions.

"Look, it's pointless to continue this conversation; I'm going to bed."

"Kazuma, wait!" Aqua said, grabbing him.

"What?"

"You still gotta install the A/C in my room."

"Maybe tomorrow."

"Ah, ok I guess I'll just tell them all about—"

He whipped around. "You think you can threaten me; go ahead, tell them—tell them and you'll get real comfortable sleeping in that stupid pen you made for your pet chicken!"

Aqua shirked away. "It-It's not fair, you and Megumin have one—and I even asked you earlier!"

"…ugh, fine."

Aqua clapped her hands together and smiled.

"Wait, A, C?" Darkness queried.

"Yup," I said, "remember the climate control box? We got some more from Wiz's shop; now all of us can enjoy it. There's even an extra for Irene."

Irene, who was sweeping, looked up. "Megumin-sama, if it requires the master to enter my room, I beg you to deliver me from such a fate."

I smiled and turned to Kazuma. "Why don't you just install all of them right now; we could help."

"Help in what way, stare at me while I literally do the heavy lifting?" Kazuma retorted.

"We'll help."

"Sure you will." Kazuma sighed.

We spent the next hour or so installing the other climate control boxes; by then it was already well-past evening and closer to night.

**Part 4**

I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling; although, I didn't really do much today I was tired, and installing those A/C units for Megumin and the others drained me. I yawned and then looked at my hand; I stared at my ring and slowly spun it on my finger. _"What to do?"_ I thought; after a couple of minutes of thinking I gave up and closed my eyes.

There was a knock on my door. "Kazuma." Megumin.

"Come in," I said.

She did so; Megumin was dressed in her pajama tops with some shorts, she was holding onto a large plushie which had an oddly similar appearance to me.

"What's up?" I said, sitting up in the bed.

She walked over and sat beside me. "I wanted to…sleep with you."

I smirked. "Always sounds suggestive when you say that."

Her eyes glowed slightly.

"Why, you got cooling in your room now."

"Kazuma," she said, kicking her feet lightly, "should I just move into your room?"

The question surprised me. "Uh, why; don't you want your own privacy?"

Megumin stayed silent for a moment. "…we're married," she replied, looking over her shoulder at me. "Should we be keeping secrets?"

I smiled weakly. "I don't think we're keeping secrets; I just think there are some things even married couples do in private—I mean, that's the feeling I get…"

"Like what?" Megumin turned completely around; she slowly crawled over and then sat up, clutching the stuffed doll in her chest.

I sort of forgot that despite Megumin's behavior and oddness, she was still a girl at heart; seeing her clutch at the plushie plucked at my heartstrings.

"Come on, Megumin, you definitely know what I mean."

She scoot closer; it made me sort of nervous. "Isn't that…something…I can handle?"

"_This girl is more wild than I initially gave her credit for; that'd she be…no, perhaps this is how she's always been; only now she has any reason to show it._ I'm not against it…but you know what it'll lead to—and you know how I feel about that."

She hugged the doll tighter. Then she gave me a tender, but weak smile. "Funny how in the beginning you were always the one bursting at the seams; now **I** can't seem to get the thought out of my head. It's become so difficult to think about anything else."

"How about thinking about explosions?"

"Really, Kazuma?" she said in disbelief. She went silent for a couple seconds, and then spoke once more. "I feel…so…dirty."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I just feel…since I can't stop thinking about it…I feel"—she buried her face in the doll—"I feel like a huge…pervert."

I laughed and she slapped my arm, her face still mostly buried behind the doll.

"Does it really count though?" I said, calming down. "Does it really count as being a pervert if you're only like that with the person you have feelings for? Should it even matter?"

Megumin was silent but stared at me intently, her eyes were smoldering like crimson embers.

"Megumin, I think you should still sleep in your room; I don't mind you coming over here—even if it's to sleep, but I think you should still have your own privacy."

She looked down dejectedly and grabbed at the arm of my tracksuit. "How do you do it?" She whispered.

"Do what?"

"Hold back; is it because I'm not appeal—"

I kissed her and then pressed her down on the bed, hovering over her; she stared back in shock, her eyes' brightness growing in their intensity.

I pulled away slowly and stared at her. "…I do it because I love you," I said resolutely. "I do it because, because if I treated you how I wanted to, then you'd be no different from any other girl out there." I breathed heavily as she stared back at me in overwhelming astonishment. In truth, it took everything I had to hold myself back, but more than my want to have her, I wanted it…to be a good experience for her; as I said before, I felt I owed it her.

"Megumin," I continued, "you're"—I smiled and then chuckled a bit—"you're absolutely beautiful…and every moment I'm with you like this I can't stop thinking about it either." I lowered my head in slight exhaustion. "It's really hard to keep myself from…" I sat back and took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I did.

I heard Megumin get up. I quickly opened my eyes; she had her back to me. "Thank you, Kazuma," She said as she hugged her doll tightly. Then she left the room.

I stared silently as the door closed shut. For several seconds, I sat unmoving before—finally—allowing myself to fall back down on my bed. Every one of these "encounters" drained all my fortitude; owing to this, however, allowed me to fall asleep with little difficulty.

_**-Next Morning**_

When I awoke, I found myself thinking about what to do; amidst the contemplation was the lingering thoughts of last night and things that I said. Although I had no problem with what I said to Megumin, just saying it was embarrassing; I was still shitty at expressing myself when I needed to be.

I sighed and then thought about tackling possible problems at hand.

There was the largest and most immediate threat of defeating the Demon Kings, however, I had no intention on embarking on that quest for at least a couple more weeks—if not, months. The next thing was nobility; what did it **actually** mean to be a noble, was I responsible for certain stuff now—did I have something I needed to do? I didn't have the answers, but I could always ask Darkness.

Funds, money; it was always a concern, but at the moment, it wasn't. Everything seemed to be in order…and this irked me for some reason. I could finally just relax but I felt antsy while doing so. Then I thought about it, I could focus on improving my skills; Megumin is trying her best to forge a new path, so should I.

After getting dressed in my adventuring attire, I headed downstairs.

"Morning, Satou-sama," Irene said as she dusted the walls.

I stared at her. "What, no snarky remark today?"

"Of course not, Satou-sama; you look like a respectable individual today."

I sighed; I was asking for it. "Where are the others?"

"Aqua and Lalatina-sama have went out to accompany Megumin-sama on her daily Explosion. If I may ask, is the Master deciding to do something worthwhile today?"

"…I'm headed to the capital."

Irene stopped and looked at me. "Dealings?"

"Not that it's any of your concern, but I wanted to speak with a certain smith over there."

As if she lost interest in the conversation, Irene turned back to dusting. "The Royal Smith perhaps?"

"You know him?"

"Who doesn't; Master Holt is renown the world over for his talents in smithing."

"I guess he is."

Just then, the door opened, and the others came in; Darkness, who was carrying Megumin, put her down on the couch.

"Ah, Kazuma, you're awake," Darkness said.

"Yo."

"Hey, you look like you're headed somewhere."

"Umu," I said, walking over. I glanced over at Megumin; she was fast asleep. "She cast her new Explosion?"

Darkness nodded.

"Kazuma," Aqua yelled, "you didn't tell me that new spell was dangerous!"

"I feel like it was self-implied—why, what happened?"

Darkness began to squirm.

"_Oh no, it had something to do with __**this**__ pervert."_

Aqua continued. "Well, when she finished casting it, there were like a thousand pieces of sharp ice flying all over the place; if it wasn't for Darkness shielding us, I'm sure a couple of them would've went right through us."

"Wait, did they hit you, Darkness?"

She clutched herself tightly and nodded stiffly.

At first glance I didn't catch it, but as I looked over her armor, there were several deep dents and even some holes; since she wasn't bleeding anywhere, I could only assume Aqua healed her. Still, the fact that Darkness was able weather that frigid hail was, once again, evidence to how resilient she was.

"Actually, Darkness, let me repair your stuff."

"Huh, are you ok with that?" She queried.

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't."

Irene came over. "Lalatina-sama, I'll draw a hot bath for you and Aqua-sama."

"Ah, thank you, Irene."

"My pleasure." She quickly walked off towards the bathroom.

Darkness turned back to me. "Do you want to repair it now or…"

I nodded. "Just give me a sec while I get my stuff."

Once I returned, Darkness removed her armor and was sitting in her undergarment.

"Why'd you suddenly want to repair my armor, Kazuma?"

I took a seat on the couch and grabbed her breast plate. "I kinda wanted to improve my smithing skills," I replied, striking at the dents.

Darkness leaned forward and rested on her arms as she watched. "Something peaceful about watching you work, Kazuma," She said with a minor smile.

"Probably the fact that he doesn't do it too often could be kind of appealing; I bet it's something like seeing a rare animal in the wild," Aqua remarked.

I frowned but kept silent; I was focusing on the repair. After I got through the last dent, I held up the piece of armor; the surface was still mildly bumpy but in much better shape than what it came back in. The bigger issue was the holes present.

"Damn, I think I'm gonna need some adamantite." I placed the breastplate on the floor and turned to Darkness. "Hey, Darkness, is there anything I should be doing as a noble?"

She looked at me with mild surprise and then sat up in her seat. "Well…not really. While the house is powerful, it only means that you can wield that influence with authority. I think you're getting confused with the responsibilities of a Lord, Kazuma."

"_Lord."_

"Lords own territory, land; in that scenario, there would be **many** responsibilities expected of you; however, as it is, simply being the Master of a Great House just means your authority falls short of the royal family's."

Aqua sat up. "Wait, so does that mean we can tell other houses and Lords what to do?"

"Well…kind of, but not really." Darkness sighed. "Talking about all this is exhausting. The long and short of it is, try not to abuse the authority you have; while it **is** great, there's a limit to how much people will sway to that authority."

"But I **do** own land now, right?"

Darkness took a second to register what I said. "Ah, right, the land purchase. Yes, you're right, Kazuma; you **do** own land, but no one lives there; there are no subjects for you to rule over."

Aqua interjected once more. "So, all we have to do is buy land and get people to move in, right?"

"How about you **don't** do that; I don't need bigger responsibilities."

"But, Kazuma, if you're the Lord of a land that means you can make rules and stuff, right, Darkness?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose."

"Then that means when we get a lot of people, we can just have them all convert to the Axis Cult, right?"

"If I did something like that I'd probably be ran out of my own town; in fact, if I ever did become a Lord, the first thing I'll do is impose a ban on Axis Cultists."

Aqua gasped. "That's discrimination, Kazuma!"

"The last thing I need would be more crazy people to worry about!"

"My followers aren't crazy, Kazuma; I told you, they're devoted!"

"Well, no use thinking about it; I'm not looking to become a Lord."

I grabbed Darkness' pauldron and began working at the kinks in the armor.

Irene returned. "Sorry of the wait," she said with deep bow, "the bath is ready, Lalatina-sama, Aqua-sama."

While Aqua and Darkness went to take their baths, I continued repairing Darkness' armor until I could no longer. I sat back and sighed. Chomusuke came by and hopped on my lap.

As I played with her, I said, "Guess I should go to the capital now, huh?" She purred deeply, snuggling into my finger.

"Kazuma?" Megumin woke up, she rubbed her eyes wearily.

"Hmm, you slept longer than usual; you ok?"

She nodded and leaned on my arm, grasping it as she dozed off once more.

"Oi," I said, shaking her gently. "I gotta go to the capital."

Megumin woke up once more. "Capital, what for?" She said, slightly more alert.

"I wanna go see the Royal Smith."

"Master Holt?" she queried; her drowsiness now completely gone. "Not Iris?"

I chortled. "Heh, why is every time I bring up the capital with you guys, it always seems to lead to Iris-chan?"

"I wonder…" Megumin replied, her eyebrows knit.

I sighed. "The primary reason I'm going is for the smith…but yeah, I guess I'll stop by and see Iris too."

"Then I'm going."

"Are you **really** jealous of her?"

"I see—I **know** how you feel about Iris."

"This again, I keep telling you that I only see her as a little sister."

Megumin looked at me; her eyes began to glow a dark red. "Then give her back the ring."

I looked away briefly. "If I give it back to her, that'd be as good as confessing to her."

"And wouldn't **that **make you happy?" She said with a pout.

I frowned. "Look, if you wanna come, then by all means; just cool it with the jealousy." I said, getting up.

Megumin tugged on my arm; as I glanced down at her, she looked away despondently. "Sorry," She said.

I sighed heavily. "…don't worry about it…now, come on, I need someone to keep me in check over there."

She gave me a small nod and got up, smiling faintly.

_**-On the way to the Teleport Station…**_

"You really taking her?" I said, looking at Chomusuke; the creature was tucked into Megumin's robes.

Megumin nodded. "She hasn't really been out; she's my familiar so she should be able to enjoy new sights and learn new experiences."

I smirked. "More like emergency rations."

"Hey!" Megumin shouted; she looked away, saying, "not anymore" in an embarrassingly low tone.

As we approached the station, a familiar Crimson Demon appeared.

"Megumin, Kazuma-kun; how are you guys?!"

"Oh, hi, Yunyun," Megumin said in a completely jaded tone; she even looked away as if uninterested.

"Megumin!" Yunyun yelled; she pouted at her friend's mocking disregard.

"Yo, Yunyun, what're you doing here?"

"What do you think, Kazuma," Megumin interjected, "she came to see us, right, Yunyun?"

"Uh, well, umm…yes…is it an issue?" Megumin stared at her blankly; after several seconds of intense staring, Yunyun began to panic. "It-It's not an issue, right?!" Her eyes darted over to me. "Kazuma-kun?!"

As much as I enjoyed the teasing, I felt bad for Yunyun, so I went to reply "no", however, Megumin interrupted.

"No, of course not, Yunyun," she said. "You're my best friend; you're always welcome at the mansion."

I sighed. _"What a best friend," _I thought.

"If Megumin's my best friend I wish she would stop teasing me so much."

"Yunyun, if you weren't so disposed to being teased then I would have no reason to tease you."

"There's definitely some type of fallacy with that logic," I remarked.

"Nonsense, Kazuma, the argument is sound; Yunyun is easily teased, therefore I **must** tease her."

"I don't think that's reasonable," Yunyun protested.

"Yunyun, you poor child, it's alright, I won't tell Kazuma about the abysmal logic scores you got in school."

Yunyun flailed her arms in embarrassment. "Megumin!"

"Oh," She said, covering her mouth and looking away with a self-satisfied grin.

To be honest, that didn't really mean much to me; in fact, I felt it was more of a compliment for Yunyun. After all, Crimson Demons weren't known for their logic—well in any positive capacity; their lack of common sense—or normal sense, was more infamously known.

Yunyun covered her now deeply reddened face.

"Yunyun, me and Kazuma are off to the capital; care to come?"

Yunyun looked up, her embarrassment completely replaced with joy. "Can I?"

"Of course; I assume since you came to visit me, you have nothing else to do; I'd feel somewhat bad if I were to leave you to wait for me."

"Aqua and Darkness **are** at the mansion; I'm sure—"

"Quiet, Kazuma."

I sighed. "Look, we're wasting time; let's get going."

"Ah and perfect timing too, Kazuma," Megumin said, grabbing me. "Yunyun can teleport us to the capital, can't you, Yunyun?"

"Uhhh, sure."

"See, Yunyun's showing her usefulness again."

"Again?! You say it like I'm rarely useful."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Yunyun; Megumin likes to offload her own shortcomings on others." I glanced over at Megumin and saw the remark completely destroyed her; for some reason, I couldn't help but grin.

_**-The capital; on the way to the Royal Smith's**_

"Oh come on, you can't be mad still," I said, looking over at Megumin.

She glared at me and then swiftly turned her face away. Yunyun snickered.

"What are you laughing about, Yunyun?" Megumin said in an exasperated tone.

"Nothing," She replied, trying to hide her smile.

Suddenly, Megumin dropped her anger and turned excitedly towards her. "Hey, Yunyun."

"Hmm?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Oh, Megumin has; what?"

"Can…Yunyun teach me some magic?"

She stopped in her tracks; Yunyun seemed to be completely shocked and bewildered by what was just said.

"Ah, that's right," I said with a rather offhanded demeanor, "Megumin knows some new magic."

Yunyun stood completely frozen, her eyes wide with overwhelmed shock.

"Yunyun," Megumin said.

Yunyun remained frozen.

"Yunyuuunnn." Megumin waved her hands.

No change.

"Oi, Yunyun!" Megumin said, waving her staff in front of her.

However, Yunyun was still unresponsive. Megumin backed away, scratching her head; she appeared to be slightly concerned.

I was too. "Hey, Yunyun," I said, walking over to her.

Suddenly, Yunyun leapt forward and hugged Megumin.

"Ahhhh!" Megumin yelled; even Chomusuke meowed loudly at the abrupt action.

"I knew you could do it; I always dreamed Megumin would be a true mage!" Yunyun said, crying tears of joy.

Megumin pushed her away, fixing her robes and resetting a frightened Chomusuke. "Don't be silly, Yunyun, I've always been a true mage."

Yunyun nodded excitedly. "Of course, but now Megumin can actually be"—Megumin narrowed her eyes—"s-she can…" Yunyun was having trouble figuring out what to say. "She can be…"

I sighed and crossed my arms. "Sorry to break your heart, Yunyun, but she's not using any new spells."

"Huh?" Yunyun looked at Megumin for confirmation.

"Umu, what Kazuma says is correct; I'm not using any other spells."

I spoke. "Well, she **is** using new spells, but not like you'd expect."

Megumin smiled proudly as she struck a pose. "Fufu, Yunyun, I am now a Master of Explosion!" She withdrew her adventurer's card and showed it to Yunyun.

As Yunyun stared at the card, she slowly took it. "Oh wow, Megumin **is** a Master of Explosion." She continued scrolling through, and then began smiling. "These are basic level magic spells; even so, I'm proud of you, Megumin."

She snatched her card away, tucking it back into the small pouch on her belt.

"But, what's this about not using the new spells; why learn them if you aren't gonna use them?"

Megumin gave a pompous smile. "Yunyun, I always knew my calling was for explosion magic; therefore, since I'm a qualified Master, it only stands to reason that I should pursue something else, right?"

Yunyun was listening attentively; she nodded.

Megumin continued. "What's that something else you ask? Perhaps you believe I'm seeking to expand into other Detonation-class spells? **NO**, I say!" (Even though this was going on for longer than I wanted, I allowed it, knowing that Crimson Demons felt good enacting their often theatrical and dramatic tirades) "Explosion is the only spell for me, Yunyun, and that will always remain true; no other spell can satisfy me like Explosion—in fact, I was affirmed the moment I cast the others, that my destiny lies in Explosion."

"B-But you already mastered it, what more can you do?"

Megumin grinned. "I'm glad you asked, Yunyun. I will become a **true** Master of Explosion; the first of its kind. Yunyun, I have created…elemental explosions—and it won't stop there! I'm sure now, I can combine other forms of magic with the brilliance of Explosion magic and make it a true magical art!"

Yunyun stared in awe. "Elemental explosion magic; that **would **be the first of its kind."

"It is, isn't it?" Megumin said proudly, once again posing dramatically.

"Uhhh, Megumin, Kazuma-kun is walking away."

"Ah, Kazuma, wait!" Megumin caught up, Yunyun right behind her; once she did, she frowned at me, pouting once more. "I wish you wouldn't just leave me behind."

"Ah, I didn't wanna interrupt; I figured letting you go on was more important than meeting with the smith." I sneered.

She shoved me lightly, and then threw her arms around my own.

I looked over my shoulder at Yunyun; though I expected her to be displaying embarrassment at such open affection, she was smiling sincerely, unaware of my attention. For a girl who lacked friends for most of her life, Yunyun was a good one. As we continued walking, I caught a skinny man following us; he appeared to be trying to tail us, quickly darting between obstacles in order to thwart our attention.

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said, "I think that man is trying to tail us."

"Umu, I think you're right."

We sped up; the man, seemingly caught by surprise by the change of pace, swiftly followed.

"He's still following," Megumin whispered.

"What's happening?" Yunyun said, walking hurriedly to our side.

I shushed her and gave a quick nod behind us. "Don't look," I quickly whispered.

"What do we do?" she asked worriedly. "Should we tell the guards?"

"Tell them what, we think someone's following us?"

Megumin interjected. "I could just use—"

"Stop it; we'll end up in a jail cell instead. No, I have a plan."

We continued to walk quickly, darting between the crowds of people; however, the man seemed determined; he followed us every step of the way.

"He's persistent, I'll give him that," Megumin said, glancing briefly over her shoulder.

We were now approaching the plaza and the adjoining market district; this area was full of crowds and could easily serve as a means of escape; however, I wasn't interested in escaping.

"Over here," I whispered, pulling Yunyun and Megumin into an alleyway.

As the man rounded the corner, I yelled, "BIND!" The rope quickly coiled around man, disabling him.

"Oi," I said, crouching in front of him, "what's the big deal; why are you following us?"

"Ha, I knew it!" the man said excitedly. "It **is **you!"

"Huh?"

"Sorry—sorry," he said, looking at Yunyun and Megumin. "I didn't mean to worry you. Uhhh," he said, trying to adjust himself in the binds, "mind if you let me free—I promise you; I mean you no harm."

I stared dubiously at him, and then looked to Megumin and Yunyun; they both nodded.

"Listen," Megumin said, "I'm a Master of Explosion magic; if you—"

"I know who you are—I know who all of you are."

"Huh?" we all said in unison. I spoke. "How?"

He tried sitting up but was visibly struggling due to the rope; I removed it.

"Ah, thank you," He said, rubbing his arms.

**Part 5**

"So, you gonna tell us who you are?" I said in a slightly hostile tone.

"Ah-Ah right, right. Ahem!" The man stood up and placed his hands on his hips proudly. "I am Bartholomew Vincent, Grand Historian and Curator of the Grand Archives of the Royal Library."

All of us looked at each other in disbelief.

"_What the hell is a guy of his standing tailing people?! _What are you doing out here then; shouldn't you be at the Royal Library?"

"Ah, well, you see, I was just on my way back."

"But…"

"Well, I had the fortune of coming across you lot—the Goddess Eris works in the most mysterious ways."

"Right, so then you decided to tail us?"

"W-Well, at first I was unsure, so I wanted to take a closer look; I apologize if it looked like I was out to do you harm, that wasn't my intention."

I sighed deeply. "Well, ok, nice meeting you Bartholomew-san, but I have to—"

"Wait," he shouted, prostrating himself, "please come back to the library with me; I have much I want to ask you about."

"Ah, well…" I scratched my head. "I was off to—"

Megumin nudged me.

"What?" I whispered.

"Let's go see what he wants; it's not like going to see Master Holt later is gonna be any different."

I sighed. "Alright, we'll go with you," I said.

Vincent quickly got up and dusted himself off. "Thank you, you won't regret it; right this way then."

As we followed, I stared at him; he appeared to be a noble. I say appeared merely because of how he dressed. If going by physical appearances, he would be anything but; his unkempt dark hair, scraggly beard, and bag-ridden brown eyes gave the opposite impression. He walked quickly, or so I initially thought, but his height gave him the advantage of wide strides; it was no wonder he was able to keep up with us so easily.

Finally, after some time, we arrived at a large and opulent building covered in white-washed stone; the front steps looked much like the ones leading up to the palace, with just as many of them to climb. Inside was even more sublime; the floor was laid with the commonly sighted black marble, the pillars leading into the main hall, white. Of course, the shelves were made of wood, but going by the appearance Megumin and Yunyun gave it, I could only assume it was of high-grade.

Rows and rows of books lined the shelves; there were so many, that piles of them were commonly stacked throughout the halls. Tens of staff members were tending to the assorted piles, pushing carts of various scrolls, books, and other reading materials. All the while, a large number of people were browsing the shelves, many seated at the numerous tables.

"This is amazing," Megumin said. "It makes the library back at the school look like a hovel by comparison."

Yunyun nodded silently; she was also awestruck.

"Ah, is this your first time here?" Vincent said as he led us through the building.

"Yeah," I answered, looking around.

Even though I wasn't as surprised as the other two, it was still a sight to behold; there were few buildings of this size and splendor in Japan but, interestingly, a lot of them were in fact libraries.

"The Grand Archives itself houses over 40 million pieces of reading material with the main hall holding another 20 million; as you can see, the amount of material far outweighs the amount of available space."

"_60 million pieces of reading material…that's absolutely insane; I don't think even the National Diet holds as much._ How, how are you even able to get this much stuff; what's it consist of?_"_

Vincent stared at me with a bemused expression. "What stuff? Surely you jest; everything is housed here—well as far as we know, this library holds a copy of every single document that's been written and publicly available."

"Even stuff from other parts of the world?"

"Ah, well…there **are** some documents from other nations; however, it is quite difficult to procure some of the more…sensitive items. That being said, while the Royal Library is magnificent, it isn't the largest library in existence."

"It isn't?" Megumin queried.

"No, that title belongs to the Lux Apocrypha. Anyhow, he we are."

Vincent withdrew a set of old-looking keys and unlocked the door in front of us. Once we entered, there were a set of even larger double doors blocking us.

"Now, we enter the Grand Archives proper," He said, unlocking them.

The doors slid open automatically. Stepping in, even I was cowed by the sheer scale of the domed structure; it was an absolute wonder how this wasn't immediately the thing someone saw when they looked out towards the capital.

"How?" I said, dumbstruck by the volume of books and shelves.

The entire dome was lined in shelves and seemingly never-ending ladders; a large bridge led to the center of the structure which then led to a spiral staircase. There were staff members in here too, but they wore heavily decorated robes and were blindfolded; despite that, they moved cautiously and with purpose, never tripping or stumbling.

"Come," Vincent said, leading us towards the center of the dome.

Once we were there, we could see that it was a sort of private study; even here there were shelves of even more books. Vincent took a seat behind a large desk; I could only assume it was his.

"Welcome to the Grand Archives and my private study; now, for the purpose I've brought you all the way out here. I'd like for you to recount to me your story; as a historian getting all the details is of the upmost importance to me. Oh—do forgive me, please, have a seat," He said, gesturing to the nearby bench.

Megumin and Yunyun took a seat, but I remained standing.

"You haven't even said how you know of us."

"Really; come now, who in the capital **doesn't** know of you." He slowly looked over all of us. "Yunyun, next-in-line to be Chief of the Crimson Mages; Satou 'the Crimson Annihilator' Megumin, and you, Satou 'Slayer of the Demon King' Kazuma. You're heroes worthy of legend and great prose."

I raised a brow.

"Of course, Kazuma-dono, there **are** some in the capital who are rather…shall we say, envious of your quick ascent and success."

"_Of course, something like that is expected."_

"Particularly your close relationship with some rather powerful families."

"And are you one of those people?"

"Heavens no! People like you, heroes—legends, I absolutely love them!" Vincent stood up. "You see, Kazuma-dono, my passion lies with history and everything it entails. When a new hero or legend is born it's like a golden age has arrived for me; for as much as I love history, much of it is repetitive with only names changing hands. Your arrival on the stage has given me something to look forward to; I only wish to see what happens."

"I think him and Arue would be good friends," Megumin noted.

Vincent looked over at her. "Are they a history aficionado as well?"

Yunyun spoke. "Well, Arue is more into stories; her interest in history only goes as far as to serve a purpose for her writing."

"Ah, I see," Vincent replied; he looked slightly disappointed. "She's a writer then?"

"An aspiring writer."

"A terrible one," I added.

Vincent smiled lightly, and then sat back down. "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it; this is as true as the sunrise. As a historian, I can tell you I've seen much of the same events play out several times throughout history; however"—he leaned back with smirk—"there are times when certain individuals show up and change the course of history; I believe you are one of those people."

Megumin and Yunyun looked at me; Megumin smiled, Yunyun stared with slight confusion.

There was a moment of silence before Vincent stood up once again. "Did you know," he said, pacing slowly, "that this library is over a thousand years old?"

We all looked with some measure of surprise.

I replied, "No, can't say I did."

"The Belzerg Royal Family, and by the extension the kingdom, has been around for some fifteen-hundred years; they were the first heroes of this place…but also different from the heroes that would come later. Though the Belzergs are known to be warriors, they always searched for an alternative to fighting; diplomacy and intelligence. This library was commissioned in the pursuit of intelligence; they knew that knowledge was a powerful tool, but instead of hoarding it to themselves, they gave it to their people." He briefly stopped and smiled proudly. "Fifteen hundred years, and their name has never faded from the history of this nation; an amazing feat considering most families don't even last half that time."

"Umm, Listen, Bartholo—"

"You can call me Vincent."

"Vincent-san, I think this is great and all, but—" Megumin tugged on my shirt. "What?" I said, looking at her.

"Why not tell him the story; you do it all the time in the Guild."

"Yeah, to women."

Megumin frowned. "Why are you so worked up about seeing Master Holt?"

"No reason, just wanted to—"

"Holt?" Vincent said, perking up. "As in the Royal Smith?"

"Uhh, yeah; why?"

"Ah, no real reason," he replied, waving it off. "Talented fellow though. Anyhow, if you were off to see him then I shouldn't keep you; you can recount the story to me at a later time. You know where I am, I **do** hope you'll visit."

"Uh, ok; guess we'll be—"

"Hold on, I'd just like to ask you one thing."

"Yeah?"

"Your weapon, what's its name? We need it to go on record as the Demon King slayer."

My eyes widened in dread. "It's—"

"Chunchunmaru."

"NOOOO!" I grabbed Megumin. "Why must you ruin my moment?!"

"Kazuma, what are you talking about; how are you not satisfied with such a cool-sounding name?"

"Chunchun…maru?" Vincent repeated.

"Yes."

"NO!"

"What does it mean?"

"I'd like to know too," Yunyun said, looking at Megumin.

Megumin looked at all of us perplexedly. "What are you guys talking about; it just sounds cool."

"Com 'ere you lil…" I angrily pulled at Megumin locks. Chomusuke meowed loudly as her owner was being assaulted.

As we exited the Royal Library, Megumin rubbed the sides of her head.

"To think you gave a meaningless name to my partner," I said dejectedly. "…I think I would've been happier to know if it meant something stupid rather than nothing at all."

Looking at me, Megumin turned away slightly; she was filled with some remorse. A moment later she enlivened and jumped in front of me. "Kazuma, Kazuma."

"What?" I said flatly.

She smirked proudly. "If you're so worried about it being meaningless, why not give it a Japanese meaning? Chunchunmaru should mean something back in your home country."

I stared at her with a slightly frustrated expression and then thought about it. _"Chunchunmaru…ughhh, this just makes it worse."_

"Well, did you come up with something?"

"It could mean…a lot of things," I said, looking even more distraught than before. "None of them good."

In reality, the most appropriate translation would've been akin to something like "beloved chirping blade" but should I have said that, I couldn't live with myself.

Megumin looked away with a smug grin and stifled laugh.

I grabbed and shook her; Chomusuke meowing as Megumin wailed. "Damn you, you little chunniloli; how dare you insult me like this! You knew this from the start, didn't you?!"

"Ahhh, what are you talking about, Kazuma; I don't even know your language."

I let her go and sighed in aggravation. "Tch." She was right; there's no way Megumin knew Japanese when she decided to give my blade such a ridiculous-sounding name.

"Hey, Kazuma," She said, straightening out her robes.

"What is it?" I replied as we began walking.

"Why don't you teach me?"

"Teach you what, Japanese?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Why, what'd be the point?"

Once again, she jumped in front of me, this time with her staff pointed at my face. "There **is** a point; it's the language of your home country, that's reason enough to learn it."

I raised my brow and moved her staff away. "It'll be complicated to teach you."

"Humph, did you forget who I am, Kazuma; stop saying such nonsensical stuff."

True, Megumin was quite adept a picking up new stuff rather quickly; perhaps a new language wouldn't be too difficult.

I sighed. "Fine, I'll teach you some Japanese on some downtime, but don't come crying to me telling me it's too hard."

Megumin smiled childishly. "Alright, teacher!"

I looked away and smiled faintly; that response reminded me of the newbies I used to teach back in my MMOs.

After that, instead of continuing to the Holt's shop (which was nearby), we decided to grab something to eat at the guild hall.

As we sat down to order, a familiar barmaid came over.

"Ah, Satou-sama," the girl yelled, "it's me Lily, remember?!"

"_Oh no, this is"_—I glanced over at Megumin; her eyes were glowing—_"bad." _I cleared my throat loudly. "Ah, I can't really recall too well; I think I was—"

"I still have the signature you gave me," she said, peeling back the flap of her shirt; she was dangerously close to revealing her breasts entirely. "It's a good thing you wrote it in rune ink."

"Yeah, Kazuma, it's a good thing," Megumin said, her eyes growing brighter as she narrowed them.

Noticing Megumin's rising temperament, Yunyun tried to calm her. "Ah, Megumin, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation here."

"Oh, Satou-sama, are these your companions?" the barmaid Lily asked curiously.

"Lily!" once more, I heard the sound of yet another familiar barmaid.

"Oh, Rosa, look who's back."

The girl, Rosa, who initially shouted exasperatedly at her, quickly calmed as she laid eyes on me. "Satou-sama!" She yelled happily.

I tugged at my collar as I nervously glanced over at Megumin; despite Yunyun's efforts, Megumin's eyes were now glowing a brilliant red, her face covered in a scathing expression.

"Satou-sama, do you remem—"

"No, I don't," I replied tensely. "Sorry, I was kinda drunk that night and—"

"Ah, well, that's to be expected," Rosa answered; she stepped back some and slightly pulled down the side of her skirt. "I still have the signature you gave me though."

Megumin slammed her hands down (Chomusuke meowed in alarm) on the table and sat up; her eyes appeared to be on fire and her face was plastered with a dangerously stoic look. "You'd better have a good explanation, Kazuma."

The barmaids looked at each other; Lily hid behind Rosa while Rosa looked at us uneasily.

"S-Sorry, are you two—"

"Married," Megumin growled as she punched the table unflinchingly.

The fact that the table's surface actually cracked made me exceptionally worried; even Yunyun stared in fear.

"Oi-oi, Megumin, calm down; it was the night of the wedding and I was—"

"NIGHT OF—" She yelled, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm herself.

"_Damn it, Kazuma, why the hell did you say something so stupid?! _M-Megumin, look," I said, trying to pacify her, "I was a bit nervous about the whole thing, so I came here with Dust—"

"DUST?!" both Yunyun and Megumin said in unison. They exchanged looks and their anger now seemed to be split between Dust and myself.

"I should've known that stupid thing had something to do with this!" Megumin snarled. "And, Kazuma, you're not innocent in this whole thing; even if you're not as disgusting as that idiot, I **know** you had more than a hand in what happened here!" Megumin turned to the barmaids. "And you two, if I ever see you around my man, I'll make sure the next thing written in rune ink will be your graves."

The two nodded frightfully and ran off.

Megumin reached over the table and grabbed me by my shirt. "You're gonna take responsibility for this, aren't you, Kazuma?"

"What, you want my signature too?" I said with a nervous grin.

I felt her grip tighten as she glared at me. "…you'll have to spend more time with me," She said sort of timidly, her grip loosening.

Honestly, I was surprised at the leniency, I half expected Megumin to beat me senseless.

"Sure," I said. "Now can you let me go; people are staring."

Megumin quickly looked around, and indeed, the entire guild hall was staring in varying levels of surprise and expectance; she let go, sighing deeply as she settled back into her seat. As I looked at her, she lazily averted her attention.

The lead receptionist came over. "Is everything alright here…" She looked at all of us. "Megumin-san, Yunyun-san…Satou-dono? What's going on, I had two of my staff—"

"They were being troublesome," Megumin replied.

"It's nothing, Maya-san." I answered; I wanted to say it was Megumin getting jealous, but I honestly didn't need to toss a drum of gasoline on that fire.

"Just a slight misunderstanding," Yunyun said disconcertingly.

"Right," the receptionist said, giving a slight cough. "Is there anything I can get you all?"

"I'll have a beer and plate of the house special," I said.

Maya took note, and then looked over at Megumin. "Give me something I can drown my sorrows in," Megumin said, staring out the corner of her eye.

"_Oi, what an overly dramatic girl_. Just give her some juice and the same," I interjected.

Megumin's brow twitched.

"And you, Yunyun-san?"

"I'll have a juice as well and a…strawberry and jam cake."

"_Strawberry and…jam? What the hell, Yunyun sure likes odd stuff."_

The receptionist gave a courteous bow and left.

Megumin sat up and stared at me. "Why do you keep treating me like I'm a child, Kazuma?!"

"I'm not; you're just being over dramatic. The last thing I need is you being angry **and** drunk."

Megumin frowned but otherwise said nothing.

Eventually, our food came; it was served by other barmaids. As we ate, Megumin spoke.

"What an odd combination, Yunyun," She said as she fed Chomusuke.

"_Eh, strawberry cake with…blackberry jam?_ Yunyun, wouldn't that give you a stomachache?" I questioned.

Seemingly unfazed by our comments, Yunyun happily ate away at the overly sweet pastry in front of her; she shook her head. "I've always had this," she said, smiling timorously. "It's one of my guilty pleasures."

"Oh?" Megumin said, casting a brief glance at her. "No wonder Yunyun has so much fat."

The spoon clattered onto the plate as Yunyun froze in embarrassment. She quickly covered her face. "I-I'm not fat," she stated with a hint of uncertainty; she quickly turned to me. "I'm not fat, right, Kazuma-kun?!"

"Eh, well, no, I don't think you're fat, Yunyun."

She let out a breath of relief and then smiled. "See, Megumin, even Kazuma-kun says I'm not fat."

"Ohhh…if Kazuma says it, then it must be true," She replied with a playful smirk.

I sighed silently as I continued eating. "Hey, Yunyun," I said.

She looked at me; Megumin as well, though just barely. "Hm?"

"If Megumin says pastries are making you fat, there's an easy way to solve this."

"Oh?" Both she and Megumin sat up. "How?"

"Just feed her some pastries," I replied. "There's no denying Megumin is skinny, right; so, should she grow—"

"Kazuma!" Megumin shouted, pouting; her face tinged slightly red.

I grinned. "I don't know, Megumin, could give you the breast size you always wanted."

She looked at me bashfully and then down at her chest, then over at Yunyun. "D-Does it, does it really…"

I snickered.

In response she frowned. "I-I'm perfectly happy…with…with my…" She lowered her head as she trailed off.

Megumin pulled her cloak tightly over herself and then her hat.

"There, there, Megumin," Yunyun said, rubbing her back, "I think you're wonderful being you."

"Easy for someone with a large chest to say," She retorted, a mixture of spite and dejection present.

"Gah." Once again, Yunyun froze.

"Honestly, Megumin," I said, "big breasts wouldn't suit you."

Upon hearing this, Megumin looked up hopefully.

I continued. "You have a small frame so it wouldn't look right; at best, I'd say B-cups are probably the largest you could have without it starting to look odd."

"B-cups?" Megumin and Yunyun looked at each other. "What the heck's a B-cup?" Megumin queried.

"Wait, what?" I said, putting my fork down in disbelief.

"What's a B-cup?" She repeated, sitting up; a confused look on her face.

"It's—do you guys really not have a measurement system for breast size? How the hell do you shop for bras then?"

"Ah, we do, but it's not called…B-cups."

"_Hmm, true, cup sizes using our denoted alphabets __**would**__ be kinda odd; still if that's the case…_so, what **do** you use?"

Megumin looked away with a minor hint of coyness. "Y-Yunyun, why don't you go ahead and say it?"

"M-Me?! N-No, I think Megumin is much braver when it comes to matters like these."

"Ah, Yunyun, I thank you for your praise, however, seeing as you probably shop more often than myself, I'll concede to your level of expertise on the matter."

"T-That's silly; M-Megumin is obviously wealthier than me, so—"

I interrupted. "Oi, you two, it's not a big deal; it's just bra sizes. Now tell me, I'm kinda interested."

"I-I—why is Kazuma-kun being so perverted now?!"

"Y-Yeah, Kazuma, why is your true nature revealing itself in s-such an untimely manner?" Megumin stammered.

"_What—of all the topic I would've considered 'steamy', bra sizes wouldn't be one of them._ Can you guys stop acting like innocent flowers and just tell me."

"Gah, K-Kazuma-kun; I-I'll have you know t-that I've"—Yunyun froze as her face turned completely red—"t-that I've…that I've…" Yunyun covered her face.

"Ah, Yunyun, **you** I can understand somewhat, but **you**," I said, pointing my fork at Megumin, "**you're** anything but."

Megumin also turned as deep a shade a red as Yunyun. "K-Kazuma, w-what are you talking about?! I'm still…"

"Argh, forget it; not like it really matters anyways."

Megumin quickly slammed her hand down. "I-I'm"—she closed her eyes tightly—"a…sprite…size."

"Huh?"

"S-Sprite," She repeated, trying her best to recompose herself.

"Sprite; is that like the smallest size?"

"Gah!" Megumin clutched at her heart.

Yunyun looked away with a slight smile. "T-The sizes go, Sprite, Squirrel, Bunny, Bear…and Dragon."

"Ohhh, makes sense; so, if Megumin is a Sprite you must something like Bear, right?"

Yunyun quickly began to twiddle with her fingers, fidgeting slightly at the mention. "W-Well technically, Megumin…" She trailed off as Megumin glared at her.

"Wait," I said, turning to Megumin, "you don't wear bras."

Her eyes widened as beads of sweat began to appear.

"Could it be that…you're…"

Megumin covered her face in shame.

I tried to hold back my growing feeling to laugh.

"I, I am…Sprite-sized…it's just…" Megumin looked down sadly.

My want to laugh was swiftly replaced by pity; Megumin probably didn't buy bras because she felt embarrassed doing so.

"Hey, Megumin," I said, staring at her. She looked up, though she wasn't crying, she looked well on the verge of doing so. "It's fine, right?" I made a scrubbing motion with my hand.

A moment later, her eyes widened in realization and her face reddened as a result; she gave a meek smile.

Yunyun looked between us, trying to decipher what was said.

After a few more minutes of eating and drinking, I paid. As we were about to leave, Megumin pulled on my arm, pointing at the quest board.

"What?" I said.

"Let's go see if there're some quests we can do."

"Quests; didn't you say you were fine staying home for a bit?"

"I **don't** mind, but I don't want…I think it's best for us if we took a quest or two from time to time."

I raised my brow. "Hmm, alright, but we're just looking."

As we browsed the board, we noticed an abundance of low-level quests.

"Huh, that's odd," I said, rubbing my chin, "so many low-level quests near the capital."

"That **is **odd," Yunyun agreed.

An adventurer who was nearby overheard us and spoke. "Ah, yeah, ever since the Demon King was defeated, most of the high-level bounties have gone with him; strictly speaking, it's gotten harder being able to live comfortably as an adventurer."

"Then again," Megumin interjected, "the need to do more dangerous jobs has gone down too, right?"

The man was sort of surprised by her counterargument. "Eh, well, yeah, I suppose."

There were still a couple high-level quests left on the board, but for the most part what the adventurer said was right; high-level and, consequently, high-paying jobs were now scarce.


	3. Chapter 2: The Royal Provision

**Chapter 2: The Royal Provision**

**Part 1**

We left the guild hall and finally arrived at the Royal Smith's. As we entered, Megumin and Yunyun instantly gravitated to the magic tools displayed about the shop. The store attendant approached me.

"Can I do anything for you, sir?" She asked, bowing slightly.

"I'd like to see Master Holt," I replied.

She showed some mild surprise at the request but bowed once more, and then disappeared down into the forge below. While the receptionist was gone, I walked over to Megumin and Yunyun.

"You guys doing some window shopping?" I said.

Megumin pointed excitedly at one of the staves. "Look, Kazuma, even at a distance I can tell that staff is incredible."

"Oh," I said, crossing my arms, "something wrong with the one you got?"

"N-No," Megumin stammered, "just…was pointing it out."

I looked up at the cost of the staff in question. _"Yeesh…550 million eris…and it's not even a custom piece."_

"These are all amazing, Megumin," Yunyun said, "but they're way too expensive."

"Umu, but what do you expect; they're made by the Royal Smith."

"These pieces are not," the attendant said, startling us. "All of these are made by artisan's employed by Master Holt; the Master only creates items on-demand." She then turned to me and gave a minor bow. "My good sir, Master Holt will see you; please, follow me."

We followed the attendant into the familiar paths of the underground workshop. The thunderous blows and loud noises that echoed through the passageways scared Chomusuke, causing her to hide under Megumin's hat. Finally, after walking through the workplace (and donning the safety gear) we made it to the private forge. Stood speaking with the Royal Smith was a well-acquainted knight in a white suit.

"Master Holt, the guests are here," the attendant announced.

Looking out towards her, he replied, "Ah, thank you; you can go, Gren."

She bowed deeply and then walked off.

Claire turned around; for a moment she was surprised. "Kazuma-dono, Megumin-dono…Yunyun-san, what are you all doing here?"

"I came to speak with Master Holt," I said.

"Ah," Holt said, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I came to ask you for a personal request."

"Oh?"

Claire cleared her throat loudly. "Master Holt, about the issue, the crown is ready to dispatch imperial knights to recover the item."

"Hm, really?" Holt said, looking between me and Claire. "Claire-dono, I have a better idea, one that'll kill two birds with one stone."

She raised a brow. "Go on."

"Right now, we're in the presence of the adventurer who defeated the Demon Army in its entirety, why not ask **him** for help?"

Claire looked at me, and then back at Holt. "This is really a matter for the knights, however…" she turned back to me. "Kazuma-dono, would you mind?"

"Of course I would; I don't even know what you're talking about. I didn't come here to get roped into another quest."

Megumin elbowed me. "What he means is we're willing to listen to the request."

I frowned, nursing the spot where Megumin elbowed. "Sure, I guess."

Claire sighed. "Well approximately two days ago we received word that a special shipment of ores on its way back to the capital was intercepted; this isn't really noteworthy—attacks like these are pretty common—what **was** noteworthy was the fact that the patrol group was nearly wiped out. A small group of knights managed to make it back with some of the peddlers and get this news out to us."

"Claire-dono, won't you tell him about what made this shipment particularly special."

She appeared to be contemplating the request, but after a bit of time, she sighed. "The shipment contained a legendary core of Coronatite."

"Coronatite?!" we all yelled.

I continued. "I thought there was only one?"

"Coronatite is just extremely rare; as such, every piece found is essential."

"And let me guess, you want me to go get it?"

"**I** don't want you to do anything, Kazuma-dono—in fact, if you decline to this request, I'll feel much better."

"Kazuma-dono," Holt said, "you said you came here with a personal request for me, correct?"

"You're gonna ask me if I can do this in exchange?" I queried.

"You catch on quick. As you know there only two ways I work, by royal passes and personal fulfilments; so, what do you say?"

"I mean…*sigh* I don't really have a good experience with Coronatite."

"Hmm, tell you what, since this is the first time I'm asking you to do something for me, if you **do** get this done for me, I'll fulfill your request **and** I'll make something for you."

Even Claire was shocked at this deal.

I rubbed my chin in contemplation. "You just want the Coronatite recovered, right?"

Claire sighed. "Ideally, the recovery of the **entire** shipment is what's wanted; however, barring that, yes, the Coronatite takes priority."

"Hm." I turned to Holt. "What's this gotta do with you; is it because it involves metals?"

Holt laughed lightly. "Kazuma-dono, if you didn't know, Coronatite is a workable material; however, it's extremely difficult to work with."

"And you're the only one who can, right?"

He nodded.

I shifted my attention to Claire. "What's it being used for, the Coronatite?"

She crossed her arms and frowned. "You're being awfully impertinent; what the crown is using the Coronatite is of no concern to you."

With a heavy sigh, I continued. "Alright, so let me get this straight; you want me to recover the Coronatite **and**, if possible, the rest of the shipment of ores?"

Claire nodded. "In addition—if you can, find out what happened to the other patrolmen **and** who did this; there aren't very many people who would boldly attack a royal convoy."

"I thought you said it was common."

"The attacks are; shipments are often preyed upon by bandits, however, it should go without saying, royal convoys being attacked are quite rare."

Megumin interjected. "Whoever is behind this attack must've been someone who knew about the shipment though; how else would they have known it was carrying Coronatite?"

Claire's eyes widened; it appeared she hadn't thought about that. "This…" She huffed. "If you're right, Megumin-dono, then it complicates matters." Claire closed her eyes in thought; after a moment, she opened them again. "Yes…with the revelation that Megumin-dono proposed, it could mean the perpetrator might have close ties to the kingdom—or at the very least has some informant; as such, sending an imperial detachment might just cause them to slip away.

"Kazuma-dono," she said, bowing her head ever so slightly, "if you could undertake this quest the kingdom would be indebted to you once more."

I sighed as I scratched my head. Crossing my arms, I turned to Megumin. "Well?"

"Hm, well what?" She queried.

"What do you think; this as much **your** decision as it is mine."

She stared at me with brief surprise; her face reddened. "I-I think we should accept," She replied, clutching her staff closely to her chest.

I turned to Claire. "Well there ya go; I guess I accept."

She smiled faintly and then looked up at me. "Very well, Kazuma-dono; I look forward to hearing of your success."

"Umu."

Claire turned to Holt. "Master Holt," She said with a slight bow; Claire took once last glance at us and then left.

After she did, Holt shifted his attention to us, namely me. "Well, Kazuma-dono, what's this request you have for me?"

"Ah, well, recently I've acquired the Smithing class; I was wondering if you could teach me the ins and outs."

Holt smiled. "You're aiming to become a smith?"

"Eh, well, on my off time I do a bit of it."

"I see. Well, I have no problem teaching you; however, Kazuma-dono, my tuition comes high."

"Money isn't really an issue."

"I don't speak of money; to be a good smith, you've got to be willing to get your hands dirty—I know what you're thinking, quite ironic for me to say such things after such a difficult quest was offloaded onto you, right? Truth be told, I wanted to go get the ore shipment myself, but—"

"You're too valuable," I finished.

He nodded. "Complete the tasks I ask of you and in return I'll teach you; I might even throw in a couple of rewards if you manage to do some particularly difficult ones."

"_This sounds a lot like some supplementary quest system in RPGs…and just as annoying; still, if I can get someone like the Royal Smith to teach me I should be able to increase my proficiency quickly—maybe even close the large level gap between me and the others._ Umu, ok, sounds good."

"Great," he said with a smile. "Now, on to other matters; how are the rings?"

Me and Megumin looked at each other and then our wedding bands. I spoke. "Hey," I said, turning to him, "did you make it so you could hear each other's thoughts and heartbeat?"

Holt smirked. "I see you found out; hearts and minds as one," he remarked. "Anyways, I ask of the manatite coil inside; there are no issues with it, correct?"

"Ah, well, no; none as far as I can see."

"Good, I was slightly worried; liquid manatite is somewhat problematic to work with."

"Liquid manatite?" Yunyun queried.

"Yes, I used it in the construction of the rings; it's what causes the ethereal bands. You see, liquid manatite tends to bleed off mana rather quickly; I gave it a semi-solid core in order to prevent it from breaking down completely. I was sort of worried something might've gone awry."

"Well, no," I answered, "nothing of the sort, yet."

"Should anything happen, please don't hesitate to pay me a visit."

"If you don't mind me asking, what **can** happen?"

"Ah, I see you're concerned; worry not, Kazuma-dono, it isn't dangerous. Simply put, the worst that can happen is the core itself will simply break; it'll render the function of the ring inoperable."

"I'm actually interested in how you managed to make such an odd function," Megumin said. "How are you able to make the rings allow us to hear our thoughts and hearts?"

"One of the side effects of absorbing green manatite is that it tends to have some mild hallucinogenic effects; I bound traces of Kazuma-dono's manatite core to your own. Put quite simply, this results in the aforementioned effect as well as the blooming roses when the rings are touching."

"I see."

Holt then stared at Megumin; he rubbed his chin curiously. Then he glanced over at me. "I've been meaning to ask," he said, "those weapons were made by a Crimson Demon, right?"

Me and Megumin traded looks. I nodded. "Why?"

"They're well-made; may I take a look at them?"

"Uh, sure."

Megumin and I handed over our weapons; Holt inspected them inquisitively. "Umu, quite good…and interesting." He handed them back. "They're unfinished," He said.

"Huh? I get my sword is—the oji-san said as much, but Megumin's staff should be complete."

"It is, for the most part; however, I feel both your weapons are missing some rather crucial elements. Anyways, I thought I should just let you know."

"Uhhh, right."

"Right then, I wish you good luck, Kazuma-dono, Megumin-dono and…Yunyun-san."

Afterwards, we left the Royal Smith's. As we wandered with no particular destination, I remembered about the new shop Vanir mentioned; I withdrew the small slip of paper.

"Hey," I said, while walking, "we should head over to Wiz and Vanir's new shop."

"Ah, that's right," Megumin replied with a smile, "that little penguin mascot is running it; Zereschrute, was his name, right?"

"Umu," I replied with a nod.

"Zereschrute-san?" Yunyun said.

Megumin glanced at her. "Umu, Vanir sent him to manage the store here. At the very least, it'll stop Aqua from purifying him every time they meet; I kinda feel bad for him."

I interrupted. "Trust me, if you saw what was under that suit of his, that'll be the last thought on your mind."

We continued walking; Megumin glanced up at me irregularly.

"What is it?" I finally asked.

"Huh? Oh, umu," she replied, shaking her head, "it's nothing."

"What are you talking about; something's obviously on your mind."

Megumin wrapped her arms around my own and rested her head on me; she smiled meekly. "Nothing."

I sighed, glancing over at Yunyun; she was playing with Chomusuke who seemed rather bothered by it.

After a couple of moments, Megumin spoke once more. "We can…go visit Iris if you'd like." I felt her fidget slightly.

I snorted and then smiled. "This your attempt at a reward; what for?"

She pressed herself closer, and then looked down; Megumin responded timidly. "I don't wanna be selfish…not **too** much."

"_This girl…" _I glanced at her, and then looked forward. "Hm, maybe later; there's still a lot of time left in the day…besides…I got a pretty cute girl hanging off my arm already."

I could feel her grip tighten a bit as she snuggled closer to me. _"What a girl,"_ I thought.

Several minutes later, we finally arrived at our destination. The shop here was larger than the one in Axel and appeared to be a tad more flamboyant in its appearance; although, saying that, it was still modest by capital standards.

"I think this is it," I said, looking at the slip of paper. I looked up and noticed the large sign above the store.

"Devilishly Good Magic Shop," Yunyun read.

"_Well…I don't think anyone's keeping track of good naming conventions…"_

We stepped into the store.

"Welcome custom—oh wait," he said, placing a flipper to his beak; a moment later he pointed at us in shock. "Gah, it's you guys!"

"Hey!" Megumin shouted, "Is that anyway to treat new and valued customers?"

"Hello, Zereschrute-san," Yunyun said, waving timidly.

"Yo," I said, "Vanir said to stop by the shop."

"Vanir-sama…I see. The shipment of manatite hasn't come in; there are no proceeds for you to acquire as of yet."

"Oi, I didn't come here for the takings; I wanted to see if there was anything worth buying."

"Ah, you're actually buying something?" The penguin flapped its stubby flippers happily. "Well then, I'll have you know we have a wide number of things on sale, and good things—not like the rather useless items Wiz-san gets."

"Oh, an actual magic shop then?"

Zereschrute nodded proudly.

For the next couple of minutes all of us scoured the store, browsing the impressive collection of items on display.

"Hey, Zereschrute," I said as I continued looking, "how'd you manage to get these items; Vanir always seems to have some issues acquiring anything worthwhile."

"I'm sure Vanir-sama would be rather disappointed to hear you say that. Most of the items came from my personal collections."

"Oh? Explains the bunch of brutal-looking devices you got."

The penguin crossed its flippers proudly. "Of course; I **am** the Lord of Brutality."

"Don't you mean former?"

"How dare you; I'm still renown as such. Just because I was…forced to retreat, doesn't mean I lost that title."

"Hey, Zereschrute-san, what's this?" Yunyun said, holding up an odd device.

"Ah." Zereschrute smirked, placing a flipper to his chin. "A rather beloved piece; it's called a 'Mana Siphon'."

"Mana Siphon?" We all stared the item in question.

"Umu, you place the end of the device on a spot on someone's body, press the button, then the needle injects itself into the victim and begins to siphon away their mana."

"So it's like the item version of Drain Touch?" I posed.

"Ah, that's not a bad way to put it; although, this is designed to cause as much pain as possible."

Yunyun stared nervously at the contraption.

"Umu, once the injection is complete, a wire filament is inserted into the body causing—"

"Oi, why're you selling such dangerous stuff?!" I shouted in disbelief.

A trembling Yunyun quickly placed the item back where she found it.

"I'll have you know, most of my stock has been flying off the shelves."

"Says a lot about the people in the capital," Megumin commented. "A lot of this stuff isn't even cheap."

"Of course not!" Zereschrute snapped. "Why would I sell my personal collection for cheap? Anyhow, are you all going to buy something or not?"

I spoke. "Well, I was wondering if you had anything that can withstand high temperatures?"

"Oh? I have lots of items that cause burns, but I'm not sure if I have anything that prevents them; let me check."

Zereschrute waddled over to the shop counter and opened up a book. "Let me see," he said, flipping through its pages. "…ah, found something; Gloves of Frostbite."

"…well it sounds like it'll do the trick."

"Alright, let me just get them for you."

The unassuming-looking devil disappeared behind the shop's backroom; a couple minutes later, he returned with the item in question.

"The gloves are quite large," he said. "They're made from the hands of an ice troll I once brutalized."

"Wait, like actual hands?"

"Of course actual hands; what did you think?!"

"I don't know, that maybe you weren't selling oddities—why is this whole shop filled with questionable items?"

"Typical, most humans just don't seem to understand good taste."

I stared at the penguin blankly. "Tell me the insides of those gloves are at least in…wearable condition."

"The gloves were made for the hands of a human; worry not, I trimmed the excess."

"Ugh, I'm having second thoughts."

"A-At least try them on!" Zereschrute said with a hint of desperation.

I took the gloves and looked inside; they appeared to be of normal construction, though the outside very much resembled the hands of a large icy creature.

"Well, try them on," the penguin devil urged.

Reluctantly, I obliged; to my surprise (and relief) the insides were well-insulated and quite comfortable.

"Hey, these are not bad."

Zereschrute flapped his flippers happily. He then gave me a pompous look. "I told you, I only sell the best items in this shop."

"How much for these?" I asked.

He paused and then gave it serious thought. "500,000—"

"Nope—"

"The gloves are made from an ice troll; when you've beaten an ice troll come back and tell me these aren't worth that much—"

"I've beaten the Demon King."

Zereschrute coughed; Megumin did as well shortly after. I looked back and frowned.

The little penguin looked defeated by my counter argument and sighed. "Very well…400,000."

I was still wholly unsatisfied by the price, but I didn't feel like fleecing this devil when I had more than enough cash.

"Take it from the proceeds," I told him, stashing the gloves in my satchel.

"Ah—very well…" he said, with some hesitance. "P-Please come again!" He shouted as we left the shop.

"Well, with that done, what do you say we go pay Iris a visit?"

"Iris-chan?" Yunyun said. "I'm pretty sure she's busy."

"She's never busy when it comes to Kazuma," Megumin replied; there was a morsel of spite in her response.

As we then walked towards the palace, Megumin looked over at me and smirked.

"What?" I said, her smile making me somewhat nervous.

"You defeated the Demon King, huh?"

"Oi."

She smiled.

Yunyun stared at both of us with some perplexity; however, we paid it no mind.

A couple minutes later, we arrived at the palace. Normally, when we used to arrive, we'd be escorted inside after being verified; however, due to my ascent to nobility and consequent status, these steps were abolished; I was free to enter the palace grounds as I saw fit.

"Iris-chan," I said, knocking on her bedroom door.

I could hear hurried footsteps followed by Rain yelling desperately. The door swung open and the small princess of Belzerg was standing with a beaming smile on her face.

"Onii-sama!"

"Iris-sama," Rain interrupted, "please remember you still have lessons." She walked over. "I wish you would've told us you were coming, Kazuma-dono."

"Sorry, I was around so I thought I should visit."

"Megumin-nee, Yunyun-chan, a pleasure to see you both," Iris said, pulling all of us in. "Please, have a seat."

"Iris-sama!" Rain said with a more concerned tone. "Your lessons."

"Sorry, Rain-chan, can you please postpone them for a bit?"

"Hime-sama, you know—"

"Please, Rain," Iris said with a pleading face, "you know it isn't very often I get to see Onii-sama and the others."

She sighed heavily. "Alright…but we will resume them after they leave; try not to take too long or you'll be having your lessons before bed." Rain turned to me and shook her head. "Please message ahead when you're coming around Kazuma-dono; it gets really difficult to get anything done with Iris-sama whenever you're involved."

Megumin replied. "Don't worry, if I'm around I'll be sure to get the message out."

"Megumin-dono, don't think I've forgotten about your 'adventures' with Iris-sama."

She instantly looked nervously at the ground.

Rain turned to Iris and bowed. "Iris-sama, I'll be back later." She then turned to Megumin who was still looking down in embarrassment. "Megumin-dono, I leave Kazuma-dono to you; please watch him."

Megumin instantly looked up and gave a stern nod. "You can leave that to me."

"Oi, you don't have to look after me like I'm sort of miscreant."

Rain, Megumin and Yunyun all stared at me blankly; under their withering gazes my will buckled.

"H-Hey, I'm not…"

After Rain left, we all went out to the veranda; as per usual, Iris asked her attendants to bring us some food while we sat and chatted.

"So, how's everything going between you two?" She asked with an interested smile.

Me and Megumin looked at each other, and then back at Iris. "Everything is pretty much the same," Megumin answered.

"Really?" she replied; there was a mixture of surprise and disappointment in her voice. She then turned to Yunyun. "How about you, Yunyun-chan; how's the Crimson Village?"

"Everything is fine at the village, Iris-sa—chan."

"Hey, Iris," I said, interrupting the flow, "I heard you were involved with the land purchase Megumin made."

She turned back excitedly. "Ah yes, the land purchase. I was quite surprised to hear Megumin-nee wanted to purchase the Demon Lord's castle."

"Wait, the castle—not the land?" I queried, becoming somewhat nervous.

"Umu."

I glanced over at Megumin who was now shaking with a worried expression on her face.

Iris continued. "Luckily, I was with the representative when Megumin-nee was making the purchase; I added the area around the castle to be bought as well."

"_Wait a minute, was she really gonna purchase __**just**__ the castle, why?!_ Oi,_"_ I said, staring indignantly at Megumin, "you never said anything about this."

Megumin lowered her posture in uneasiness, her eyes darting away from mine. "I-I thought it wasn't important." My frown deepened. "I-I mean the important stuff was the fact that we got the land, r-right?"

"Oi," I said menacingly, my face mere centimeters from her own, "the details **are** important."

She nodded fervently; the nervousness she felt coercing her to do so. I sat back and shifted my attention back to Iris. "Thanks, Iris-chan."

"Umu, not a problem, Onii-sama; I'm here to support you in any way I can."

"Ah, I'm glad to see someone is."

Megumin flinched at my offhanded remark.

"By the way, Onii-sama, I've heard you were to take the mission concerning the missing ores."

"The missing Coronatite you mean."

"Yes; do you need anything from me? Since this is a royal provision I'd like to offer as much help as possible."

"No, it's fine Iris-chan; we're already set to go. That being said, I was quite curious as to what the Coronatite was being used for."

Iris gave a furtive smile; Megumin quickly stiffened in response, her expression growing equally stern. I looked between the two of them; something was going on with these two, I could tell.

**Part 2**

Shortly after Iris gave her response and the food came, we left; though I wanted to stay longer, I felt uncomfortable with the tension in the air.

"I can't believe she said it was a secret," Megumin said. "Especially to you."

I glanced out the corner of my eye. "…oi, what's going on between you and Iris?"

Megumin tensed up at my questioning; she gripped her staff tightly, and then let out a deep breath.

"There's something going on between Megumin and Iris-chan?" Yunyun queried.

"There's nothing," She answered curtly.

"…really, there's nothing?" I posed; my brow raised in doubt.

Megumin looked down as she walked; she appeared to be contemplating an answer. "If I'm honest," she said, "I feel…threatened by her."

"Pfft, I should've known."

"Threatened, how?" Yunyun asked.

"It's not in the way you think, Kazuma," she replied. "I feel like…Iris is hiding something."

"Iris? The Princess of Belzerg, Iris? The loveable little sister of mine who could do no harm, Iris? Listen, true she just said the reason for the Coronatite was a secret, but that's to be expected; there's some things even **she** can't tell me."

"And what would require being so secretive? Think about the last time Coronatite was used and what it was—"

"Whoa," I said, stopping abruptly. "You aren't suggesting that Iris-chan is building a weapon of mass destruction; even that line of reasoning is off for someone like you."

"Like me, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Look, Megumin, we can't jump to such conclusions; besides, you of all people should know how OP Iris-chan is already; there'd be no need for a weapon like that to exist—no, in fact, I'm sure the reason for the Coronatite is something more benign."

Megumin relaxed upon hearing my explanation; she appeared to be somewhat relieved. "Hopefully you're right, Kazuma…I **do** like Iris; I'm just…sort of wary of her ever since the ceremony."

I sighed deeply, and then smiled. "Why worry about it; if something bad happens we'll deal with it, right?"

Megumin smiled weakly. "Umu."

"Or are you worried that your Explosion magic might not be enough to stop it?"

"Of course not!" Megumin shouted tenaciously; all traces of her anxiety gone. She grinned. "Especially now that I've acquired new Explosion magic; there's no way I could lose."

I smiled; that was more like the little explosive mage I came to love.

Afterwards, Yunyun teleported us back to Axel.

"Megumin," She said as we began to walk back to the mansion.

Megumin turned around. "What is it, Yunyun?"

"Make sure you visit your parents and Komekko; they haven't seen you since the wedding."

Megumin looked genuinely thankful for the reminder. "Ah, right, thanks, Yunyun; I'll see about visiting them soon."

With our goodbyes said, me and Megumin continued to the mansion. When we arrived, Aqua and Irene were out front tending to the garden.

"Ah, where were you two?" Aqua said somewhat aggressively.

"We went to the capital," Megumin replied.

"I'm surprised the maid didn't tell you," I added.

Irene was unfazed by remark. "Ah, I see you've returned, Megumin-sama; should I run a bath for you?"

"Uh, sure, thank you, Irene."

She bowed and headed back into the house.

"What'd you guys go to the capital for?" Aqua continued.

"I went to see Master Holt," I replied.

"Who?"

"Ah, that's right, you don't actually know him; he's the Royal Smith."

"Oh, the guy who made your rings, right?"

"Umu."

"What'd you go and see him for?"

"Mostly for some help. Oh, by the way, we have a quest we gotta do."

"Huh, what are you talking about, Kazuma?" Aqua stopped tending to the garden and turned around.

Megumin interjected. "It's a special request from the royal family."

I elaborated. "We need to go investigate what happened to some patrol group that got jumped while they were escorting a shipment of some ores."

"Sounds kinda boring."

"Let's hope it is; if it's something simple we can finish it quickly and head back."

"But you didn't tell her about the **real** reason we're headed out there," Megumin said.

"It's best if I don't."

"Wait," Aqua said sort of anxiously, "what reason—what's going on? Kazuma!"

I waved her off and headed inside; Chomusuke (who was hidden under Megumin's hat this entire time) popped out and followed me in.

"Kazuma." It was Darkness.

"Yes, I'm Kazuma."

"I was slightly worried when I didn't see you; luckily, Irene told me you headed to the capital with Megumin."

"Of course she did; Aqua is gonna be upset when I tell her Irene didn't bother to inform her."

"Try not to get her to add more reasons to dislike you, Kazuma."

"**She** should try having less reasons for **me** to dislike her, not the other way around!"

"Ahem."

"*sigh* whatever, just get some stuff ready, we're headed on another adventure."

"Oh, so soon?" Darkness said, mildly surprised. She smiled, placing her hands on her hips. "I thought you said we weren't—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know; it just kinda fell onto my lap."

Darkness crossed her arms. "What's the quest for?"

"We just need to investigate the disappearance of some patrols and recover some missing ores."

She placed a hand on her chin. "Patrols…sounds like that would be under the purview of the imperial knights."

"It is, but for reasons I'm too tired to get into we were offered the job instead."

"I see. Well, I've no issue with this; my muscles were starting to get stiff from little use."

Aqua rushed in with Megumin in tow. "What's this about Coronatite?!" She shrieked.

"Coronatite?" Darkness said, looking at me.

I frowned at Megumin, who instinctively looked away. "Yeah, it has something to do with Coronatite."

Darkness grasped my shoulder. "Kazuma," she said with a solemn stare; her grip tightened, "we must absolutely go on this quest."

"Ah, yeah—ow, your hands—ow, goddammit, Darkness!" I pried it loose from my shoulder, massaging the spot. "It's a royal provision; I think it'd be bad form if we refused."

"Am I the only one who's worried about this?!" Aqua said anxiously. "It's the same thing that powered the Destroyer, right; the same thing that was gonna explode?!"

"Aqua, we got a walking nuke with us the entire time; you really think I'm gonna be afraid of explosions now?"

"Maybe not you guys, but I certainly don't want to be cooked alive by this thing going nuclear."

"Let me make this clear, neither do I; with that said, I think we'll do what we can. According to Megumin, there's a good chance this was done with the help of an inside man; we should at least do our part in investigating it."

"Since when are **you** so gung-ho about taking such difficult requests—what did the princess offer you?!"

"Oi, I take offence to that. I'm an adventurer, a hero, and a noble of this kingdom; I'm not about to let some sly bastard endanger that after I worked so hard to get here!"

"Don't worry, Aqua," Megumin reassured, "if worse comes to worst, I'll just hit the Coronatite with my new Ice Explosion and neutralize it."

"Let's hope it just doesn't come to that; I don't wanna have to think that solving this thing would require another explosion."

"Heh," Megumin grinned, striking a pose, "you should know, Kazuma, bringing along the Master of Explosions is—"

"A recipe for disaster." I finished, sighing heavily afterwards. "If you're knowledge on magical items wasn't so useful, I'd really be contemplating on bringing you along."

"Ah—as if; I'll go even if you tell me not too!"

"Oh, you wanna test that theory?" I said, stepping towards her.

Megumin stepped back nervously. "I-I see, you're coming close—"

"I can't drain you if I don't."

"A-Ah—ok, ok…you win."

"Kazuma," Darkness said enthusiastically, "am-am I useful for this quest?! I-I don't care what you say, I'm coming along as well—perhaps you need to drain me too—"

"No, we'll definitely need you as a pack mule; I'm sure the ores will be heavy."

"Kyuuuu!" Darkness squirmed excitedly.

"Anyways, just get packed; we'll head out tomorrow morning."

After this discussion, Megumin and Aqua went to take a bath while I prepped dinner. While I was reluctant to have Irene help, I conceded once she told me she would handle the desserts; there was also the benefit of watching her; I could make sure there was nothing malicious being done to the food.

As we cooked, Irene looked over at me; the pastries she was making were currently baking so she had nothing better to do.

"Oi, could you stop staring; it's ruining my concentration."

"My apologies, Satou-sama; I forget, having a woman stare at you so purposefully fills you with excitement."

"I don't have a problem with women staring at me—just you, and besides, wouldn't any guy feel somewhat tense if a woman stared so intently?"

"I'm simply watching to make sure the Master doesn't mess up."

"I'm **gonna** mess up if you keep watching—or maybe that's what you want."

Irene looked away; a couple minutes later, she looked back at me.

"Again?"

"Just making sure everything is fine with the food."

"It's not my first time, you know."

"Satou-sama, please, I don't wish to hear about your experiences."

"I'm talking about the food."

"Of course you are; any other line of reasoning would imply the Master had **any** experience."

My brow twitched and the oven bell dinged. Irene pulled out the pastries and quickly set them on a tray.

"I'll prepare the table," she said, walking out with the tray of pastries.

"_Gah, that woman is nothing but insufferable…"_

Despite the frustrating experience in the kitchen, I managed to finish cooking. Darkness was already waiting in the dining room; she and Irene were having a chat, eventually, the other two arrived.

"What are we having tonight?" Megumin smiled as she took a seat beside me.

Irene replied. "Satou-sama has managed to cook up a meat stew, accompanying it will be strawberry-filled pastries."

"Oh, sounds good," Aqua remarked.

"Why don't you eat with us, Irene?" Darkness said.

"No, I couldn't, Lalatina-sama; a servant's place is not at the table of their hosts."

"…eat with us," I grumbled.

Irene looked at me, though her face remained expressionless. "If the Master insists."

"I do, so sit; as much as you're a pain in the ass, you're still part of this house."

Irene sat. After a couple of moments, she looked at me. "Thank you," She said with a slight bow of her head.

"Sure."

For the next hour or so, we all exchanged stories; at first, it was about the day, then it became about our past experiences. The maid listened, but she shared few details of her own. By the time we were done, everyone was full and satisfied. We each headed to our rooms to turn in for the night; well, most of us…

"Kazuma," Megumin said, knocking on my door.

"Come in," I answered; she did. In her hand she had a notebook and pencil. "What's up?" I asked.

Megumin showed me the items in her hand.

"What about 'em?"

Megumin climbed into my bed and sat next to me. "The lessons," she said. "Remember, you said you were gonna teach me your home language."

"Ah right," I said, sitting up.

Even though I agreed to teach Megumin Japanese, I had little idea where to begin. When it came to the understanding both languages, I knew them fluently; however, this was obviously due to the effects of being sent to this world; it wasn't like I fundamentally understood this world's language and how it actually compared to something like Japanese. The thought process behind each language was automatic for me.

Megumin tugged on my sleeve. "Explosion," she said, "teach me how to say 'Explosion'."

"_Right, of course she would choose something like that…_" I smiled. "Bakuhatsu or Bakuretsu are typically interchangeable. **Mahou **means magic."

Megumin smiled tenderly. "Bakuhatsu…Bakuretsu mahou!" Once again she smiled, although this time with more vigor. "How do you say, 'I love'?"

"_Heh, I love explosions, huh. _Bakaretsu ga daisuki."

"Umu," Megumin said, shaking her head. "Not explosions. Kazuma, Kazuma ga daisuki."

It was wrong, or at least the way I think she meant to say it, but…

"Aishiteru, Megumin."

She looked at me in confusion.

"Means, I love you, Megumin."

She blushed and looked away coyly. "Aishiteru, Kazuma."

I scratched my head and smiled. "Japanese is contextual; there's quite a few ways to say things and the words you choose give it a different sort of…feeling. Just saying 'I love you' could be said in a few ways—obviously there are more commonly used ways to say things, but for the most part it's something you pick up with experience."

Megumin nodded; she was listening attentively.

"Here," I said, grabbing the pen and notebook from her. I opened it up to clean sheet of paper and began writing in kana.

Megumin watched with a mixture of awe and confusion as I wrote down the symbols of a few in hiragana.

"Wait!" she said, "Kazuma!"

"What?" I replied, slightly alarmed by her outburst.

"I've seen these kinds of symbols; they're like the ones in the village!"

"Umu."

"So…the landmarks…"

"Yeah, they're from Japan…or at the very least, probably made by someone **from** Japan."

"I see." Megumin went quiet at the thought.

"…you wanna continue?"

"Huh?" she said, looking back up at me. "Yes—of course, please."

Her eagerness made me smile. Suddenly she went quiet again, a solemn expression crept up on her face once more.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh, I remembered the other place I've seen these types of symbols."

I raised my brow. "Where?"

"When I had my awakening, these symbols flashed over my eyes."

"Huh, how?"

"I, I don't know; all I remember was getting mad and then the symbols flashed over my eyes, a couple seconds later I 'awakened'."

"_That sounds odd as hell; why would she see kanji? I mean I get that some Japanese dude genetically modified them, but something like that would be strange even given that sort of background. _Oi, Megumin, you sure Crimson Demons are genetically modified humans, you guys aren't like androids or something, right?"

"Huh, androids?"

"Like human robots; they look like humans but have robot parts."

"Umm, no, we're definitely human."

"How can you be sure?"

"Kazuma…just trust me; there're ways to verify this—and I have."

"You say that, but now I'm really curious."

"Well, for starters there've been some pretty gruesome accidents in the village's past; Crimson Demons who thought themselves stronger than they were have wandered into the forests only to be found mutilated. Once you see this, you know for a fact that we're not robots, we're…very human. And the second thing is robots wouldn't be able to use magic—at least I don't think so. Finally, robots can't produce offspring, right?"

"_True; a robot wouldn't be able to—not even an android. Hell, at that point, it would be better to call them a cyborg, a human with cybernetic implants or robotic parts, rather than a robot with a human appearance…right?_ Well, I guess we'll find out someday."

Megumin looked away timidly, her eyes and ears growing bright red.

"Anyways," I said, "do you remember the symbols; if you do, we can decipher what it means."

She looked back at me. "Uhhh, no, sorry."

"Well, it's been a while so I can't really blame you."

For some odd reason, I found myself absorbed in teaching Megumin, Japanese. Maybe seeing something from back there brought me feelings of relief; relief that I still remembered it, that I still had some attachment to it. And while I've only been here for a little over two years, the amount of experiences I had here dwarfed **any** I had back in Japan; perhaps that's why I was so concerned I would forget. After several more hours of teaching, eventually, me and Megumin fell asleep.

_**-Next Morning**_

When I awoke, I found Megumin hugging the notebook close to her chest; she slept deeply; a small grin on her face as drool slowly meandered down the side of her cheek. Though we needed to get ready to depart, I let her sleep; waking her from such a state would make me feel somewhat bad.

"Kazuma," Darkness said, as I exited my room.

"Oh, morning, Darkness, what's up?"

"Everything is prepped to go."

"Good."

Darkness smiled. "We're finally going on another adventure; I'm excited, Kazuma."

"Oh, when aren't you?" She blushed slightly, and then frowned. "That aside, I just hope it isn't too much trouble; _after all, the reason I'm holding off on fighting the other Demon Kings is so I can take some time to actually enjoy what this world has to offer."_

"As much as I'd hate to shatter your preconceptions, Kazuma, I don't believe it will be; if it's a royal provision then it's classified as a high-level bounty."

"Yeah, I know, but I could always dream. Anyways…where's Aqua?"

"I think she's still asleep—I think Megumin is too."

"Umu, Megumin's sleeping in my room." Darkness made a surprised expression; she quickly suppressed it. "I'm gonna make breakfast; wake her, if she doesn't by the time I get done."

"S-Sure." As I went to walk away, Darkness grabbed my shoulder. "Kazuma," She said; there was an anxious look on her face.

I sighed. "I was just talking with her and we fell asleep."

Darkness loosened her grip slightly. "S-Sorry, I was just…" She looked down for a moment, then away, finally she let go of me.

Once again, I sighed. "Pull yourself together, Darkness; gonna need that rock-hard body of yours to not be distracted." I gave her a weak smile.

"R-Right," She replied, responding with a similar expression.

After I made breakfast, I came out of the kitchen to find the others already sitting at the table. Megumin had the notebook out; she appeared to be studying it.

"Hey, Megumin," Aqua said, "that's Japanese; why have something like that if you can't even read it?"

Megumin glanced up from the book. "Kazuma's teaching me," She replied as I placed the plates of food on the table.

"Oh, that true, Kazuma?" Aqua said, looking to me.

"Eh, yeah."

Darkness interjected. "I see, so that's what you two were doing." She looked at Megumin. "Can you read any of it?"

She nodded. "Just a bit; it's pretty confusing though."

"What's the point of teaching her Japanese though?" Aqua questioned. "It's not like she'll ever be able to visit Japan."

"She insisted," I answered as I sat down.

Aqua looked slightly worriedly to Megumin, then she smiled. "How cute, Megumin wants to learn Japanese; why?"

Megumin shifted her attention to Aqua. "Ah, I just wanted to know more about where Kazuma came from."

"Hmmm, I think it's quite romantic actually."

"Eh, I'm having second thoughts teaching her then," I interjected as I lazily sipped some water. "Hey, by the way, where's the maid?"

"Irene?"

Darkness responded. "She went out to get groceries; she should be back before we leave though."

"Ah, I see; at least she's making herself useful," I remarked.

"So, Megumin," Aqua continued, " what'd Kazuma teach you; I bet it was something lewd and disgusting."

"Oi."

Megumin smiled proudly. "Waga na wa Megumin, bakurestu mahou no tatsujin!"

"Ohhh," Aqua said with a smile growing, "that's not too bad; although I feel like the way you're saying it is for flair; especially the beginning part."

"Really?" I interrupted. "That's how **I** always heard her introduce herself."

"Ah, really," Aqua questioned, placing a finger on her chin, "so you hear everyone speaking in Japanese?"

I nodded.

"Really?" Megumin said with a slightly confused look. " So, even now you hear me speaking in Japanese?"

"Umu."

Darkness spoke. "How about literature; do you see it in your home language?"

"Eh, well, no," I replied, sitting back in thought. "I see it as is, but it's just automatically translated in my mind as Japanese."

"Hmm, seems like that's full fluency."

"I always thought it kinda strange; this world only seems to have one language."

"Umu." Megumin nodded.

Aqua elaborated. "As far as I know, the language is sort of derived from divine tongue; the mortal races were present towards the end of the primordial war and were taught language by some lingering angels."

"Hmm, interesting; still, wouldn't you see that kinda thing split into other dialects and eventually become their own languages?"

"Is that what happened in your world, Kazuma?" Megumin posed.

"Well...minus the angel part."

Aqua interjected. "To answer your question, Kazuma, the threat of the demons and their kin seems to have prevented other languages from forming, or rather, from the original from fracturing—that being said, the language spoken is almost completely different from godly tongue."

"Wait," Megumin said, "if you always hear us speaking Japanese; how do you hear me when I **actually** speak Japanese?"

I grinned. "Sounds like you're trying too hard to say something you don't actually know how to say; it's actually kinda cute."

Megumin looked away slightly; her ears and cheeks were tinged a mild hue of red.

"If that's the case," Darkness said, "wouldn't telling her exactly what you hear when she says something be the best way to teach her how to say said stuff?"

I raised my brow at the surprising suggestion. "Hmmm, I suppose it would; then again, she wouldn't actually learn anything from that; only how to say certain things."

"It's fine," Megumin interrupted, "I prefer the way you've been teaching me."

"Ah, well there you go, Darkness; she prefers learning from scratch."

"I thought as much; Megumin sure is tenacious."

"Of course I am, Darkness," Megumin remarked. "I don't undertake frivolous tasks; only those that are worth bearing in the first place."

"Well," Aqua said as she took a bite out of her buttered toast, "I don't really know who you'll be speaking to in Japanese besides me and Kazuma."

"That's irrelevant, Aqua—actually"—Megumin turned towards Darkness—"Darkness would you like me to teach you?"

"Huh—well, I don't mind."

I cut in. "Maybe learn the language first, then teach."

"Hai, Shishou!" Megumin shouted resolutely.

I grinned.

**Part 3**

As we made our way to the carriage station Darkness spoke. "So, where's this place supposed to be?" She asked.

"Hmm, well the quest scroll says it's on the path leading to Elroad," I replied, looking at the scroll in question.

"Seems kinda vague," Megumin remarked.

"Well, if they knew exactly where these bandits were, they wouldn't need us to investigate, right?"

"I suppose."

I looked over at Aqua who seemed to be happier than usual. "Oi, what's with you?"

"Hm, what do you mean?"

"You're smiling a bit more than normal…it's creeping me out."

Aqua frowned. "Humph, I just happen to be relieved that I don't have to leave Emperor Zell at Wiz's shop."

"Is that it; I thought you got some new bubbly or something."

"This is big news, Kazuma; no longer do I have to be worried about my little Zell's upbringing being corrupted by dark forces."

"Eh, I think his owner is probably worth more concern."

"Wha?!" Aqua crossed her arms angrily and pouted.

"Kazuma," Megumin said, "wouldn't it be better to teleport to the capital and take a convoy out from there?"

"Yeah," I replied, "it would, but I figured we'd wanna take in the sights; been a while since we traveled. Besides, we got a huge discount on the seats."

"Really, why?" Darkness queried.

I grinned. "The convoy leader said it's a gift on account of us being present to protect the convoy; nothing like the party who defeated the Demon King and his army being at hand."

Once we arrived, the convoy leader came to greet us personally.

"Ah, nice to see you've arrived; come, I've saved the best seats for you all."

Everyone smiled appreciatively and followed. Indeed, the coach that was reserved for us seemed to be one for nobles, V.I.P.s, or adventurers who could afford it; incidentally, we fit into all three of those categories.

Aqua laid out on the stretch of seat in front of me, while Megumin and Darkness sat beside me. After a couple minutes of waiting for other passengers to board the convoy, we were off.

"Oi, Aqua." Aqua, who had her arm shielding her eyes from the light pouring in from the outside, glanced at me. "Remember to get rid of your divine aura; the last thing I want is a repeat from when we went to Alcanretia."

"Don't worry, I remembered to the moment we got on."

"Good. Then, perhaps I can breathe a little easier."

Megumin spoke. "It's fine, Kazuma; if monsters appear, I'll handle it. And while I'm opposed to using my Explosion magic on small-fry, I'm quite anxious to try it out on actual mobs."

"Oi, if you use that new Explosion magic, you're liable to hurt someone or even worse."

"Don't worry, Kazuma, I'm a responsible adult; I'll make sure to use it far away from the convoy."

"How about you just don't use it?"

"Nonsense, Kazuma, I must; how else will I perfect it? This is part of my journey as a true explosion master."

I sighed. I had a bad feeling about this trip; perhaps it was simply better to teleport and avoid all the possible troubles of slow travel. Traveling to the capital would take roughly a week and a couple days and the more that I thought about it, the dumber I felt for not teleporting; but, perhaps my luck was starting to show, since we made it all the way to our destination without incident.

As we disembarked, the convoy leader came over to us. "Thank you for joining us; I'm sure there were no issues thanks to your presence."

To be honest, I was extremely surprised at the fact there were no encounters along the way; as the leader left, I turned to my companions to express this feeling.

"Kind of odd nothing attacked us along the way."

"Kind of disappointing," Megumin stated. "Although, not surprising."

"Why?"

Aqua interjected. "Kazuma, the Devil King is dead, and Demon Army is no more; powerful monsters barely existed around Axel as is. You're more likely to find a golden-horned rabbit than come across dangerous creatures."

"Still doesn't explain why weren't attacked by anything."

"Our levels, Kazuma," Megumin stated. "Aside from you, me, Aqua, and Darkness are around level 50; lower-level monsters won't approach us."

I sighed at the slight against me. "You say that, but I seem to recall some Giant Frogs doing exactly that."

"You could blame Aqua for that."

Aqua shot a look of astonishment at Megumin.

True, had Aqua not reduced her divine aura we'd likely be attacked regardless of our levels.

Megumin smirked. "That being said, once we head towards Elroad it should be quite a different story."

I looked at her perplexedly. "Why's that?"

Darkness answered. "We're in the capital now; while I've heard strong monsters are still quite uncommon around here, they should still be far more prevalent than they are around Axel."

"Not to mention their overall levels are higher as well," Megumin added.

This was common knowledge—and something I knew but had forgotten.

"Alright," I said, "let's see if we can find a place to stay at and get some food."

"Oh, I'm surprised you're not saying, 'let's stay over at the palace'," Aqua mocked.

"Indeed," Darkness agreed. "I'm actually surprised."

"Oi, if you guys keep saying stuff like that, I'm gonna get mad; it's not like I have nothing but Iris on my mind whenever I come to the capital."

They all looked at each other, their faces expressing extreme doubt.

My brow twitched. "Oi, the only reason I suggest seeing Iris-chan when I'm here is because when else am I supposed to see her?!"

"Probably every so often," Megumin said offhandedly, "you know, like a normal person."

I narrowed my eyes on her. She looked away with a slight pout.

"Whatever, we're not staying at the palace so it's fine; let's stay somewhere—"

"How about Darkness' estate?" Megumin suggested.

"Huh, oh yeah," I said, turning to Darkness. "How about it?"

"Huh—oh, well, I don't have any issue with it; although, I don't know if it's any better furnished since the last time me and you visited, Megumin."

"Maybe we should do something about that?" Megumin remarked. "It'd be nice to have a reliable place to stay at whenever we visit."

"I agree," I said to everyone's astonishment.

"You agree?" Megumin said in bewilderment.

"Umu."

"Are you ok, Kazuma?" Aqua said as she worriedly checked me.

Once again, I was growing agitated. "Oi, that's enough; can you guys stop thinking like my only purpose of coming here is to see Iris-chan!"

And once again, they all exchanged looks. Aqua spoke. "I mean you say that, but isn't it **really** the only reason?"

"_Tch, this bitch."_

Embarrassingly, I had no retort to her assumption; visiting Iris was indeed the largest reason for me ever coming to the capital.

Soon enough, we arrived at Darkness' capital home. On the outside, it looked much like any other mansion. In fact, it was fairly similar to her own family's manor back in Axel (which was to be expected); inside, however, was a different story.

"Geez, Darkness," I said as we walked in, "what's up with this place; looks like you just bought it from foreclosure."

Darkness knit her brow. "I keep telling you it's barely furnished; fact of the matter is my family hardly ever needs to use this estate."

Aqua looked around inquisitively. "I think with a bit of cleaning this place could be just as cozy as the mansion back in Axel."

"I didn't have any issues sleeping when me and Darkness came last," Megumin commented.

"You have pretty low standards," I remarked.

"Of course she does; she chose **you**, after all," Aqua said teasingly.

Megumin seemed satisfied with Aqua's retort so she didn't say anything more.

"Listen, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this needs to be palace levels of comfort, just surprised to see a noble's home look like this," I clarified.

Darkness sighed. "I feel like I keep saying that my family isn't extremely wealthy, at least by noble standards."

"Don't worry, Darkness," Megumin interjected, "we'll clean up this place and furnish it nicely."

"Well, I guess I'll leave that stuff to you guys," I said as I walked over to the couch by the hearth; one of the few pieces of furniture in the entire place.

"Leave that to us?" Megumin queried. " And what exactly are **you** gonna be doing?"

"Relaxing," I replied, laying down on the couch as I did.

"You **could** come with us, you know?"

"Look, that trip had me feeling more tense then not; it was a mistake to take the carriage."

"Huh, I didn't find it unpleasant at all," Darkness said.

"Yeah," Aqua agreed.

"Of course you guys didn't feel tense; listen, I sat through that entire trip feeling like something was gonna go wrong and that **I** was gonna end having to clean up whatever mess **you** guys were inevitably gonna stir up."

"You make it sound like we're the ones to blame whenever something goes wrong?!" Aqua yelled.

The irony made me laugh. "Alright, you girls go have your fun and let me get some rest; just don't go spending too much."

Part of me felt it was highly irresponsible of me to let them go and shop unsupervised, but I was currently too tired to care; should they cause me some financial burden, I'll simply push the debts onto…then it hit me…the only one who would cause the least amount of worry in this situation was the only one **not** part of my household; the other two however…

I got up to go after them, but they were already gone. I silently cursed myself as I sat back down on the couch.

"_Eris, if you're listening, please make sure your idiot senpai and kohai don't end up spending everything we have."_

"Grrr, that Kazuma, I can't believe he's looking down on us after all we've done for him," Aqua said in exasperation. "I'll make sure to buy some expensive drinks with his money."

I sighed. "Aqua, you know doing something like that is just gonna get him on your case later on."

"Quiet, Megumin, Kazuma won't notice as long as we run a large enough tab."

"I, I don't think that's gonna work, Aqua," Darkness remarked.

"It's never had in the past," I added.

"Would you two stop worrying; besides, it's Kazuma's fault for not coming."

"Hey," Darkness said, "while I appreciate what you guys are doing, let's try to keep the expenses low."

"What for?" Aqua said. "If Kazuma's paying for all of it we don't have to worry; we're filthy rich."

"Aqua," I interjected, "you **do** know that money is essentially all of ours, right? If Kazuma goes broke that means we will too."

Aqua appeared genuinely surprised at the revelation.

"Although," I continued, "that **does** mean Kazuma will probably become more productive."

"Umu," Darkness said, agreeing with my assumption. "It'll mean we'll have to take some high-level bounties too." She was growing increasingly flushed as her mind began to wander off on presumably some difficult-to-kill monster.

"Alright, alright, you two, I get it. It-It wasn't like I was gonna spend a ridiculous amount of money anyways; I need to leave Kazuma something for my birthday, after all."

"Wait, birthday?" Darkness queried. "Aqua, aren't you a goddess; why would you have a birthday?"

I stared at Aqua; I was curious to know this too.

She smiled proudly. "Everyone knows you receive the greatest amounts of gifts and blessings on your birthday. The day just happens to be the same as the day of the Axis Order's inauguration."

"Ah, so you consider the day of the Axis Cult's creation as your own birthday; make sense."

Suddenly, as we were walking, a familiar person bumped into Aqua.

"Ah—who, oh, it's you," Aqua said in a mildly derisive tone.

"Chris," Darkness said, "what are you doing here?"

"Ah"—she scratched her scar—"I was just around; you know keeping my ear to the ground. You guys here by yourselves; where's Kazuma?"

"Oh, he's at the family manor."

"He's lazing about, as usual," I added.

Chris smiled. "So, what are you guys doing back in the capital; here on an important errand?"

"Nothing of the sort," I answered. "Just a pitstop before we continue on a quest."

"Oh, a quest?"

"Well, yeah, but right now we're looking to furnish Darkness' mansion."

"Ah, hmm, I don't know how much help I'd be in choosing things, but do you mind if I came along?"

"Not at all."

Afterwards, we found ourselves dipping in and out of various stores, some not even pertaining to furniture; eventually however, we ended buying everything we needed…and a little extra.

Chris looked over a small booklet she kept. "Geez," she said somewhat worriedly, "just a little over 100 million in expenses; I'd imagine Kazuma-kun isn't gonna be very happy about this."

Aqua threw an arm around Chris' shoulder and pulled her close. "Say, **Chris**, why don't we all go for drinks now; you know, to celebrate fixing up Darkness' place."

Chris gave a nervous laugh. "No, no, there's no way I—"

Aqua pulled her closer. "Don't be such an Eris Cultist; learn to live a little. I know that Goddess Eris is pretty stuck up and rigid when it comes to rules, but I assure you, she won't mind if you're hanging out with her senior." Aqua narrowed her eyes.

Chris, who was looking somewhat torn at what was being said to her, looked down despondently.

"Aqua," Darkness interjected, "maybe you shouldn't pick on Chris so much, she's—"

"Oh really?" She replied, rocking Chris as if they were best buds. "I hear that the Goddess Eris is a bit of a free spirit; that she likes to wander away from her job from time to time. Would you happen to know anything about that?" She stared at Chris with a devious smirk.

"Of-Of course not—"

"Really? You know it's not good to lie to a goddess, right? Then again…you don't seem to be particularly alarmed at the fact that I'm a goddess."

Chris smiled nervously.

"She could just be playing along with your delusions of being a goddess since you're in the Axis Cult," I commented.

"Megumin!" Aqua yelled, her tone a mix of surprise and anger. "**You** of all people know I'm an actual goddess!"

I looked away.

"Gah!" She looked at Darkness; who did the same in a somewhat timid manner. "I am a goddess!"

Chris took the moment to pull away from the exasperated Aqua. "I'd love to stay and join you guys on that offer, but I-I just remembered I had an a-appointment. See ya!" As she ran off, she waved back at us. "See ya, Darkness! See ya, Megumin-chan!"

"How could you two embarrass me like that?!" Aqua said with a pout. She knit her brow, and then quickly smiled. "This calls for some drinks."

_**-Sometime later…**_

"Aqua, while I don't mind having a few drinks, we could've just gone to the guild hall," Darkness pointed out.

"I don't mind the guild hall either," she replied, taking a swig from the cup of hard liquor she ordered. "But sometimes you have to change up the scenery…not to mention," she said with a smug grin, "this place is said to have some of the best drinks in the capital."

"I think you should have a fair assessment of how true that rumor might be," I remarked, noting all the empty cups of various drinks she's downed.

"Megumin," Darkness said, "I'm surprised at how little you've drank; you usually end up a mess when you do."

"Fufufu, Darkness, I see you have a rather inaccurate impression of me; I'm quite capable of—"

"Your wine, miss," a waiter said, placing a large goblet in front of me.

When they walked away, Darkness stared at me blankly.

I coughed. "I-I was saying, I'm quite capable of…self…restraint…"

Darkness sighed. "This is why me and Kazuma didn't want you drinking at such a young age."

I swung my arm dismissively. "Stop treating me like I'm some little kid, Darkness; I'll have you know, I'm probably more of an adult than you! Size isn't everything, you know."

Darkness shirked back. Her face was growing red; probably from a mixture of different emotions. She knit her brow. "Oh, so you're an adult now, are you? Fine then, Megumin; let's put that to the test."

I was slightly surprised; Darkness wasn't the type of person to ever challenge me. "F-Fine, what do you have in mind?"

"A drinking contest of course; you seem to think you're more of adult than I am, then let's drink to it."

Knowledge and experience would say this was a doomed challenge; I would fail. Darkness was not only taller and older than me, but she had far more mass than I did; especially on her chest. These reserves of fat would prove to be beneficial in staving off inebriation; it was one of the reasons, I got drunk far faster than anyone else I knew. Nevertheless, I couldn't—I wouldn't back down from a challenge.

"You're on, Darkness; what's the wager?"

"Hold on," Aqua interrupted. "You need someone to preside over this duel; I'll be the judge."

We both nodded in agreement, then Darkness spoke. "I wager that the loser of this duel never drinks unless authorized by the winner."

"Tch—fine, I accept. What are we drinking?"

"I'll choose," Aqua said with a smile. "Let's start this off with something light—"

"Negative," I interjected, "the strongest drinks!" I demanded, slamming an open palm on the table; I winced from the pain I caused myself.

"Ohhh, Megumin's pretty serious about this," Aqua said.

Darkness was taken aback by my brazenness. "F-Fine, but I think this is a little bit reckless of you, Megumin."

"You scared you'll lose, Darkness?" I mocked.

"L-Lose?! You have to be joking; Megumin, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that I'll win this handedly."

"We'll see about that."

_**-Ten mugs of hard liquor later…**_

"Megumin…you should stop now," Darkness said; her face was flush and her eyelids slightly drooped.

I had my head on the table and was barely able to lift myself from it. I held a half-finished mug of liquor in my hand. "Non…non…shence," I slurred. "I'm"—I pressed my lips to the container and threw my head back, gulping whatever liquid made it into my mouth; as it happens, most of it didn't, landing either on my chest or my lap. I slammed the mug down on the table—"gewd."

Aqua, who was drinking all this time, leaned on her arm; she appeared to be quite drunk herself. "M-Megumin, I don't, I don't think…I can count that one."

"Ish fine, I'll"—I wretched at the familiar feeling of near-toxic sottishness—"I'll hab uh 'nother."

As I reached for another mug, I kept missing the handle several times. In a drunken rage, I grabbed the container itself and placed my face on it; I took a deep breath—nearly throwing up in the process—and gulped down the entirety of the contents within. At this point, I was breathing heavily and could feel the cold sweat built up on my body begin to make me cold.

"M-Megumin," Darkness said; her voice was full of concern, "let's…let's just stop, ok?"

I said nothing, my glazed eyes staring lazily at her.

"Eleven cups for Megumin," Aqua announced. "Your turn, Darkness."

As Darkness was about to take another drink, she put it down and looked to Aqua. "Aqua, why aren't you stopping this; look at Megumin, she's falling apart. What am I supposed to say to Kazuma if he finds out I allowed this?"

"Why are you so worried?" Aqua replied. "If you're lucky, Kazuma will probably hit you."

Darkness sat silently; she appeared to be in deep thought with a smile slowly building up. She shook her head furiously. "No! Aqua, we, we can't allow this; we're supposed to be the ones Megumin looks up to; her role models."

Aqua seemed to come to her senses. "You're right!" she said, sitting up. "How could I allow this to happen?" Aqua knit her brow in frustration. "I should've ordered more variety for you two; now this is all she'll know about alcohol—"

"Aqua!"

"What?!"

"The drinking's the problem not the type of drinks!"

"Oh—right, right. Megumin," she said, looking at me, "that's it; contest is done."

As she said this, I felt my consciousness slip away from me and my eyes roll back.

"You guys…are—arrggh!" I was hearing Kazuma; I could tell by the way he sounded, he was furious. "Every…goddamn—"

"It-It was Darkness' fault!" I heard Aqua retort.

"Ah—Aqua!" The astonishment in that response told me it could only be Darkness.

"What, it's true though; you were the one who challenged Megumin."

"I-I didn't think she would take it so far—"

Kazuma burst out laughing; however, it was anything but gleeful in manner. "Are you an idiot, Darkness-no, you must be an idiot! You thought this chunnibrat wouldn't take it so far; it almost astounds me how stupid a thought that is. Seriously, makes me think you haven't spent the last two years around her!"

The way he was chewing out the other two…I didn't dare open my eyes; not that I could've, my mind was still spinning.

"I-I tried to stop her, but she—"

"Ugh, whatever! I'm more concerned with the fact that you guys went out to drink—did you even buy the furniture?!"

"Of-Of course we did!" Aqua retorted.

"Oh, you did, and how much did it come out to?"

Suddenly the other two went quiet. If I could see what was happening, I'd imagine Kazuma was looking at them rather suspiciously.

"What. Did. It. Come. Out. To?" He said once again.

I could hear someone trying to whistle away; Aqua.

"Oi, did you guys hear what the hell I just—"

"100 million…eris…" Darkness answered loudly, her voice trailing off.

"…a hundred…million…WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS BUY, A DAMN HOUSE?!" Suddenly, I heard Kazuma stomping my way; he yanked me by my robes and pulled me up. "Oi, you, wake the hell up," he said gruffly, "I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE!"

I clenched my eyes closed; although, in hindsight, it probably gave me away.

"Wake up!" He yelled, shaking me.

"Ahhh, Kazuma, please, don't shake me," I said sickly; the feeling of dizziness was reaching vomit-inducing levels.

He let go of me, almost as if he knew. "How the hell could you be so reckless—all of you?!"

"This," Aqua said, mustering courage, "this isn't only our fault, you know; you're the one to blame too!"

"You selfish bitch! You go out, spend my money, and get drunk off your ass and then you have the nerve to tell me you're not to blame for our troubles?! I'll make sure I remember that when I don't give you any allowance!"

"Ah—wait, Kazuma, I-I was just joking; maybe the others are to blame just a bit more than you; don't take away my allowance."

"_Shameless…she didn't even have the integrity to say she was at fault…then again, this is Aqua we're talking about."_

"Where's all the furniture anyways; did they say when they'd make the delivery?"

"Umm," Darkness began, "we told them to deliver it here as soon as possible."

"So, when's that, today?"

"Maybe?"

"Maybe; can't you guys even—" Kazuma took a deep breath and then sighed. "We're supposed to leave tomorrow morning; we can't just sit around waiting for the furniture to get here."

"Why not?" Aqua queried.

"Cause we'll miss our ride out."

"No," I said, finally opening my eyes. "we're not leaving tomorrow."

"Why?" Kazuma said; he stared angrily at me. "Because you're too hungover to?" He grabbed me by my choker and pulled me closely. "Whose fault is that?"

"Kazuma," I said, my tone indifferent, "if you don't let go of me, I'm gonna throw up all over you."

"Careful, Megumin," Aqua said, "you might be threatening him with a good time."

I couldn't help but smirk at the slight.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Kazuma got behind me and shook my head furiously.

"No, no, no—blech!" I threw up all over the floor.

"There," he said, crossing his arms, "that takes care of you needing to throw up. You guys better be ready to leave tomorrow morning."

**Part 4**

_**-Next morning**_

I awoke by a pile of my own throw up and instantly retched at the smell. As I shot away from the mess, my head felt like it was spinning unceasingly; within in seconds, I was covered in a cold sweat as I fought back the feeling to throw up once more. "Why?" I said weakly, cursing myself for my irresponsible actions. As I looked around, I noticed Kazuma and Aqua were sleeping on the couch while Darkness fell asleep on a dining chair. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

I stared at the door and then looked back at the others; they didn't even stir from their slumber. "Ugh." I felt terrible. They knocked once more; I looked back at the others again, hoping the proceeding knocks woke someone. "Coming," I said lowly. I stumbled to my feet and then quickly crouched down; the spinning was overwhelming, and I began to tear up at the feeling.

The person at the door knocked again, this time, more forcefully. I couldn't get up; I would throw up if I did. I slowly crawled over to the door and then pulled myself up using the door handle. I drew open the door and quickly laid myself against its frame.

"Delivery for"—the man looked down at a sheet of paper—"Dustiness Ford Lalatina."

"Sure," I replied, pulling my hat low over my head; all my senses were being overwhelmed by the ambient stimuli of the outside world. "You can put it…wherever."

The delivery men came in with a bunch of boxes and covered furniture; in all the commotion, the others finally woke up.

"Ah, the furniture arrived," Darkness said with a smile.

"Good timing," Kazuma commented.

Aqua rubbed her eyes wearily. "Why is everyone making so much noise?"

"It's gonna be a while," I said as swayed over to the couch and fell upon it.

Kazuma stared at me. "What do you mean?"

I pointed out the door. He walked over and looked outside.

"W-What the hell—why are there so many—is this all of ours?!" He yelled.

The line of wagons carrying boxes and furniture was essentially a small convoy; it stretched down the end of the manor's walkway, out into the main street, and disappeared around the corner.

"What the hell; why are there so many things?!" Kazuma yelled, looking back at us.

Aqua got up and quickly opened one of the boxes; it was full of liquor. "It came!" She said with a smile.

"Huh?" Kazuma said, looking into the box. "Alcohol?!"

Aqua smiled proudly. "It's almost winter, Kazuma, and everyone knows that alcohol warms you up; I took it upon myself to order a bit so we can get through the cold."

"Oi, are you stupid or something; winter is months away—and alcohol does the opposite."

"Huh, what are you—"

"Alcohol makes you colder," he explained. "It draws blood to your skin and **away** from your core—how the hell don't you know this?!"

"Wait," Darkness said, "is this true?"

"Huh, you—really?!"

"Kazuma, that doesn't matter," Aqua interrupted. "It's still gives you a good feeling when you drink it in cold temperatures."

"Are all these boxes full of liquor?!" he exclaimed, opening another; it was indeed, full of liquor. "How much did you spend on all of this—is this why the bill was so high?!"

Aqua looked away and began twiddling her fingers.

"You damn spendthrift; I'm returning all of this!"

Aqua grabbed Kazuma. "Kazuma, wait!" She sobbed.

"Argh, get off me!" He said, trying to break free from her.

"You owe me this!"

"Owe you—did the alcohol rob whatever little bit of intelligence you have?!"

"Didn't you forget my bottle of Holy Reverie you smashed?!"

Kazuma went quiet and then looked away.

"You **do ** remember; I hope you also remember how expensive it was!"

"So you bought 100 million eris worth of alcohol?!"

Aqua got up and brushed herself off. "Of course not…there's only 26 million eris worth."

Kazuma grabbed her by the collar and shook her. "You go out there and tell those guys to return this stuff!"

"Ahhhh, Kazuma, you're being unreasonable!"

"Tch." He let her go.

Aqua fell to her knees and began sobbing. "I was even being considerate; spending far less than you owe."

"Oi, if you don't stop saying such stupid things, I'M GONNA SERIOUSLY GET PISSED OFF!"

"Kazuma," I said weakly, "please, stop being loud." I covered my ears as I tried to drift to sleep.

"Oi," he said, walking over to me, "don't even try and fall asleep; you **know** we have to go do this quest."

"I do," I whined, "but does it have to be now—I know I shouldn't have drunk so much, but I feel really sick, Kazuma."

He sighed deeply and crossed his arms. With a frown, he replied, "Next time I won't be so lenient, understand?"

I nodded silently, and then curled up tightly; I closed my eyes and allowed exhaustion to overtake me in my weakened state.

Letting Megumin sleep, I turned towards Aqua and Darkness. "Alright, you two, since you're responsible for this mess you're gonna help me carry in all this stuff."

"What?!" Aqua shouted in disbelief. "But that's why we have delivery—"

"Did you see the number of things out there?! If we let them handle all of it, we'll be here till midnight; I don't wanna hear any protests—you're helping!"

Sure enough, by the time we were done hauling in most of the cargo, it was already the early afternoon. Me and Aqua collapsed against the various boxes stacked around the house while Darkness stood proudly looking around; although she worked up a sweat, she didn't even seem the least bit bothered by the amount of work we did.

"I could go for a cold bath right about now," I said, still breathing quite deeply.

"I wanna go first," Aqua remarked.

"Oi, why do you get to go first; we had to do all this because of **you**. And anyways, can't you just go out back and douse yourself with a water spell or something?"

"Ah—what do you take me as, a plebian?! I'm a bonafide goddess, Kazuma; I'm not about to dump some water on myself out in the open when there's a perfectly good bath where I can do so!"

"Ugh, fine; you and Darkness can use the bath."

Aqua raised a brow, and the smiled. "Hmm, you're being awfully compliant; I wonder what's happened to you."

I frowned. "I don't know, maybe exhaustion? I'm too tired to argue with you, so just hurry up and go take a bath."

Aqua looked unconvinced, but she got up. "Ok, Darkness, come on." And off the two went to bathe.

I closed my eyes in an attempt to rest; however, I was interrupted.

"Kazuma." I looked over; it was Megumin, she was rubbing her eyes.

"What?" I said, still resting against the crate.

"Where's Aqua and Darkness?"

"Uh, they just headed to the bath; you should go take one now if you plan on doing so."

"Aren't **you** gonna bathe?"

"Umu, after they finish. Why," I said, opening one eye and looking at her, "you wanna take one together again?" I grinned.

"You know I wouldn't mind," Megumin replied casually; she sat down beside me.

Her succinct reply caused me some discouragement. _"Hmm, remarks like that don't even faze her…not that they ever did, really."_ I sighed. "I'm a bit tired," I said. "I think I underestimated just how much stuff there was."

"Ah, right—well, for the record, I **did** try to stop Aqua from spending so much; hmm, even Chris did."

"Chris? _So maybe she heard my prayers, after all."_

"Umu; she showed up when we were headed to the stores."

I shook my head in disbelief. "How do three people fail at restraining one person's terrible habits?"

Megumin smiled with a mixture of nervousness and regret. "Aqua tends to be pretty difficult to talk down."

"I think you all are too easy on her."

"Maybe you're just too hard on her."

I chuckled wryly. "No, not enough. If she ended up spending this much, I'd hate to see what she would've spent had you guys let her."

"Ah, well, I think before Chris sort of helped, it was somewhere around 190 million eris."

My brow twitched; if I continued to let this troublesome goddess have her way, her spending habits will put us right back to when we started all of this.

I sighed. "I need a drink." I opened up the nearest crate and pulled out a bottle.

"Ughhhh." Megumin looked away sickly. "Please, no." She said, waving it off.

"It's not like I was gonna give you any—definitely not after what you just pulled." I bit down on the cork and tried prying it off; after more effort than I felt comfortable with, it popped off. _"Damn thing is tougher than it looks,"_ I thought, lightly biting down on my teeth.

Both of us sat quietly while I took a couple gulps from the bottle. After a while, I spoke. "Say, Megumin."

"Hm?"

"I'm surprised you haven't used your Explosion; it's been a week and a half since we've come here, and you didn't even get to use it on the trip."

"Umu." She nodded in agreement.

I looked at her with a bit of concern. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head.

"So, what's up with the uncharacteristic restraint?"

She smiled. "Restraint," she repeated, almost fondly. She looked at me. "You're trying your best too, right?"

"_I see…_Ah, yeah, guess I am; doesn't mean **you** have to though."

"I know, but neither do you and yet…" Silence permeated the air for a minute. "We can't **always** be slaves to our desires…"

I closed my eyes and looked away with a faint smile. This girl was learning, she was changing.

"That being said, Kazuma"—I glanced over; Megumin was trembling—"it's getting really difficult to do so."

But at the end of the day, she was still Megumin; the explosion-crazy archmage with a few loose screws.

"Ah, well, could you hold it a bit longer; we'll head out tomorrow morning for the quest."

"B-But what if there isn't anything for me to blow up?"

"Then I guess we'll just blow something up on the way back—why put up a tough front when you're coming apart at the seams?"

Megumin threw up a chunniish pose. "Fufufu, appearances are everything when you're being assaulted by dark forces, Kazuma."

"_Eh, perhaps I placed too much faith in this girl's progress."_ I shook my head and sighed.

"Hey."

I glanced over. "Yeah?"

"You still have the notebook, right? Can you teach me some more tonight?"

"We'll have to be up early in the morning, you sure wanna; we might end up sleeping late again."

She nodded.

"Learning new stuff can be kinda fun, huh?"

"Umu, I suppose so…say, Kazuma, do you like teaching?"

"Teaching…hmmm…" I didn't think too much of it; the closest thing I knew to teaching was when I had to train newbies about certain aspects in the games I played. Other than that, there were no other "skills" I had that could be offered as learning. "I don't really mind it; to be honest, I find it kinda difficult."

"Why's that?"

"Well, in order to teach something, you gotta be qualified, right; something of an authority."

"Kazuma," Megumin paused. "…Kazuma, you're surprisingly smart."

"Oi—"

"No, no, I mean it as a compliment; you can be pretty insightful. Honestly, it shocks me since your INT stat isn't really all that high."

If I was being honest with myself, I don't think I was very smart; I had the benefit of knowing a bit of stuff from Japan—and in effect—a more advanced civilization. It shouldn't really be a surprise that the others would be amazed by some of the stuff I was able to come up with because of this.

"It isn't because you come from another world," Megumin said, almost as if she read my mind; I looked down, our rings weren't touching. "I'm not talking about the inventions you make, Kazuma."

"Then what **are** you talking about?" I said, taking another swig of alcohol.

Megumin sighed. "Nevermind," She said, getting up.

I grabbed her hand and yanked her down. She fell into my lap; an astounded expression present.

"Oi, if you're gonna start saying something about me I'd appreciate if you told me."

Her eyes were wide with astonishment. She gulped and gave a nervous smirk. "Is-Is Kazuma drunk?"

"Drunk? I barely had half a bottle."

While this was true, I hadn't noticed that the bottle in question was of a fairly strong alcohol; its fruity taste masked this fact. As I looked at Megumin I was beginning to feel the effects of the drink; my head started to feel hot and hazy, I shook it lightly as my thoughts slowly started to wander.

"Hey, Megumin, I think you might be right," I said, cupping my hand over my eyes.

"Oh, look who's getting drunk when they told me not to just a while ago."

"I'm not drunk—and **you** did it intentionally."

"It was a challenge, and **you** know I can't back down from a challenge; my pride as a Crimson Demon is at stake."

"Yeah, yeah, anyways, you should probably go take a bath before the others get out; it's been a while so I'm pretty—"

"I wanna take one with you—"

"That's a bad idea," I replied quickly; even in a state of drunken haziness I knew it was.

"…"

"…don't make this more difficult than it already is."

"…umu," Megumin said dejectedly; she slowly got up and walked off.

I grit my teeth; my mind was racing with all the things I instinctively wanted to do to her—I couldn't, especially with the other two around. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Ugh." I looked at the bottle in my hand and took one last gulp of its contents; Aqua could have the rest.

_**-Sometime later…**_

"Kazuma."

I opened my eyes in alarm. "Megumin? What—"

"You fell asleep."

"Ugh." I rubbed my face and yawned. "How long?"

"It's been about two hours or so."

"Where are the others?"

"Aqua's…drinking and Darkness is setting up some of the furniture. Our rooms are already furnished so no need to sleep out here on the floor; you can go to your room."

"Ah, thanks. After I take a bath, we should probably get something to eat; I would cook something, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing stocked here."

"Even if there was, with how seldom Darkness or any of her family visits, it'd probably have gone bad."

"Good point."

"Anyways, I'll go tell Aqua and Darkness."

"Umu."

I went to bathe without incident and in coming out was met with the others waiting on me.

"Done?" Aqua said.

"Yeah," I said, adjusting my cloak. "Listen, since you guys spent so much, we can't afford to go all crazy with what we get; I'm especially saying this to **you**, Aqua."

She frowned.

"Oi."

"I got it, I got it," She replied with a pout.

"Good. Also, easy on the drinks; I don't want you guys whining about being too hungover in the morning." I narrowed my eyes on Megumin.

She averted my gaze.

"And you, Darkness." She stiffened. "You just try not to embarrass us."

"Em-Embarrass you?! If anything, I should be the one saying that; how many times have I—"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving her off, "let's go."

I heard her pant somewhat forcefully. I shook my head.

Several minutes later we were seated in a rather modest restaurant; more aptly, this place could be called a hole-in-the-wall.

Aqua looked around disapprovingly as she rested on her hand. "I know you said we weren't spending much, Kazuma, but isn't this place really cheap-looking, even for you?"

"Oi, this place actually serves good food."

"Umu." Megumin nodded. "I've actually been here with Yunyun before."

I shifted my attention. "Really?"

"Umu, it was a while back when we went out with Iris. In any case"—she turned to Aqua—"the onion duck soup they serve is actually really good."

A waitress came over and introduced herself. "What can I get you all?" She asked.

"I'll have the onion duck soup," Aqua said happily, and a glass of—"

"Water," I answered.

Aqua frowned and pouted at me.

"I'll have the same," Megumin continued.

"Me too," I said.

Darkness, who was looking at the menu silently this entire time, lowered it. "I'll have a diced gore boar salad with light seasoning, water as well."

The waitress gave a short nod and walked off.

"So," I said, looking at Megumin, " what's this about coming here with Iris-chan?"

"Ah, well, you know…"

Darkness interjected. "Megumin, are you still doing that?"

"Well, lately, no; there hasn't really been much time to."

The waitress returned with our drinks, and then left once more.

As we sat waiting for our food, Aqua lazily played with her water, making it move in unnatural and awe-inspiring ways; if only this goddess would put her talents to use…

Suddenly, a tall and heavily robed figure bumped into Aqua as they passed by; her water spilled over, causing her to turn around in anger.

"Hey!" She yelled.

The robed figure turned and stared at her with fierce yellow eyes; his feral-looking face was one that signaled an impulsive and wild temperament.

"Huh?" He said, his voice deep and intimidating.

"You spilled my drink!" Aqua shouted angrily.

"Oi, Aqua!" I said, trying to calm her down. I turned to the man, and nervously spoke. "Eh, don't worry, just forget—"

"Coward!" Megumin yelled, standing up. "You call yourself a man?!"

"Oi, you stop—"

Darkness slammed her fist on the table. "What kind of man just casually bumps into a woman like that; if you're trying to be a villain you should've chosen me and fully committed to the act—"

"Oi, oi, guys—what the hell, would you—"

"Tch." The man turned and began to walk away.

"Hey!" Aqua exclaimed, trying to grab the man's robes; I held her back.

"Aqua, would you—hey, stop it, you idiot, I don't need any trouble here; especially not from a scary-looking person like that."

Unfortunately, I was only one person and I couldn't stop Megumin's brazen action.

"Apologize," She said, holding onto man's robes.

He stared at her, his eyes slowly narrowing. Megumin stared back unflinchingly.

"Megumin," I said, somewhat worriedly.

"Humph," the man grinned, a small fang bared from the corner of his mouth. He turned towards Aqua and said, "Sorry". He stared back at Megumin; she let go of his robes. Afterwards, he walked off once more.

I let out a deep sigh of relief and immediately grabbed Megumin. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"To spill Aqua's drink and ruin her performance; I couldn't let someone carelessly walk off and **not** apologize after such an affront."

"Oi, what if that guy decided to fight us instead; do you know the trouble you'd bring me?"

Aqua interjected. "What trouble; we're nobles, if anything wouldn't that guy in end up in trouble!"

"Oi, that's exactly why, you idiot!"

Aqua gasped. "Why are you so concerned now, you never had any issues using authority to have your way!"

"It's different now that I'm the one held responsible!"

"Hey!" Darkness shouted.

We all sat back down and shortly after our waitress returned. "Here we are—oh, did one of you have an accident?"

"It's fine," Aqua said; she was still somewhat agitated. She used Create Water to fill her cup.

The waitress cleared her throat firmly and pointed to a sign: No Magic Allowed!

"Eh, sorry," Aqua said fretfully.

The waitress handed out our meals, quickly wiped down the spill, and walked off.

"Itadakimasu," Megumin said happily.

I smiled and did the same, Aqua did as well, followed by Darkness, who said it in a mildly confused tone.

As we ate, Darkness looked up at me. "What does it mean?" She asked.

"Hmm, what does, Itadakimasu?"

She nodded.

Aqua answered. "Japanese way of giving a sort of blessing; they usually say it before eating. Mmm, Megumin, you're right, this soup **is** good."

"Oh, so a grace?" Darkness said.

I replied. "Eh, well, yeah; it's sort of like saying 'thanks for the meal' or 'let's eat'. This shouldn't have been the first time you heard it though."

"Eh, no, it isn't. I mean, I heard you say it before, but I just never really asked."

Minutes later, we all sat in delight with full bellies.

"Haaaah, I never thought a soup could make me feel so full," Aqua said, rubbing her stomach.

"Umu, I told you this place was good," I remarked.

"What was up with that guy though?" Megumin queried.

"What do you mean? Stuff like that happens from time to time; what's so out of the ordinary?"

"Hmm, I don't know; kinda felt a little odd."

I raised my brow and then sighed. "Don't raise any flags, please. Let's just hurry back and get some rest; we already have enough stuff on our plate to worry about." I raised my hand to signal for the check.

As we walked back the manor, I stared at Aqua angrily. "This is coming out your allowance."

"H-How was I supposed to know about that stupid rule?!" She whined.

"It's a standard rule and pretty obvious if you thought about it…tch, to think the penalty for such a thing would be so high though…almost came out to the same as if we went to a fancy restaurant."

"I was half expecting you to fight it," Megumin stated.

"I was thinking about it, but this day has already been more eventful than I'd like."

"Really?" Darkness remarked. "It's pretty tame compared to most of the stuff we usually get into."

She wasn't wrong; however, I didn't want it to be anywhere near our version of "normal". "Listen, since our ride out is gonna be gone by tomorrow, that means we'll have to make the trip using another method of transportation."

"Well using a horse-drawn carriage will take us about a little over a week (ten days to be exact) to get to Elroad's capital; this isn't quite as far, but it'll also probably take around three to five days."

"No," I replied, "since this is more of an investigation, we should avoid using anything that'll draw too much attention; we should walk."

"Walk?!" Aqua shouted in disbelief. "Kazuma, are actually stupid, didn't you just hear Darkness say it'll take us—"

"I heard her—and while I'm not happy with the distance, we also don't know how far towards Elroad this quest actually is; could be closer—"

"Or farther!" Aqua retorted.

I sighed. "Alright, we'll figure out what we'll be using tomorrow; just make sure you guys are all ready to go."

We made it back to Darkness' family mansion and quickly headed to our respective rooms.

As I walked into my own, I looked around in surprise; it was larger and more finely decorated than my room back in Axel. The girls did a fine job putting everything together; the thematic color being the green I often wore and lined with a gilded trim. I quickly changed into my tracksuit and jumped into bed; it was firm but had just enough 'give' to it to feel comfortable. As I closed my eyes to drift to sleep, my door opened; Megumin stood in her pajamas. _"Ah, that's right," _I thought, _"the lessons."_

**Part 5**

I opened my eyes in shock.

"You're awake finally," Megumin said.

"Wha-What happened?"

"Huh, nothing, you fell asleep; it's morning already."

"Really?" I scratched my head. "I don't, I don't remember last night."

Megumin raised her brow, and then smiled. "Looks like you slept really well."

"Ugh, did I end up teaching you some more Japanese?"

"Mhm," She replied with a nod; she wore a childish smile.

I sat up with a perplexed expression. "Is that all that happened?"

"Huh—Of, of course; what are you suspecting?"

"Hey, don't feign innocence with me, you know what I'm talking about; if anything **did** happen then I at least wanna be able to remember."

"I'm-I'm telling you, nothing happened; you just taught me Japanese and then we fell asleep."

"Then how come I can't seem to remember anything past the time you walked into my room?"

"I, I don't know; that seems pretty odd."

I stared at Megumin; she stared back. "You promise nothing happened."

"I, I promise, Kazuma; I, I wouldn't do that to you."

I sighed. _"What the heck…I can't remember last night—I can't even remember falling asleep…_how'd **you** sleep?"

"Huh—oh, well, I fell asleep with you. When I woke up, **you** were still fast asleep; I didn't really wanna wake you, so I let you sleep a little longer. Kazuma, it's probably nothing; you've been pretty worked up as of late, maybe it just the stress getting to you?"

"Megumin, she broke free; she's going your way!" Aqua yelled.

"Wait, what, broke free; what the hell is—"

"S-Sorry, Kazuma," Megumin said, turning around and getting into a combat stance.

A female form quickly whipped around the corner and stood at the front of the room; twin daggers drawn. For a split second, our eyes met, the next, she lunged forward.

"_Shit, Megumin, she's in the way!"_ I quickly threw my pillow and darted towards Megumin.

As I grabbed her and pushed her aside, the assailant slashed the pillow. "BIND!" I yelled, but even with at the point-blank distance she dodged deftly and swept me off my feet. She threw her arms back and brought the daggers down swiftly.

"Got you!" Darkness yelled, slamming herself into the assassin with such ferocity that the impact shattered the frame of my bed.

All of us were panting from the adrenaline coursing through us; the assassin, however, lay unmoving.

"What—does anyone wanna tell me what the hell just happened?!" I yelled.

"Sorry, Kazuma," Megumin said in a regretful tone.

Aqua came into the room. "You got her, good."

"What's going on?" I posed once more.

"We were targeted," Darkness said as she held on tightly to the attacker.

"Targeted—B-By who?"

"We don't know."

"That's what we've been trying to find out all night," Aqua said; she looked extremely angry.

"Why didn't you guys wake me?!" I said exasperatedly.

"We tried," Megumin replied quickly, "but you wouldn't wake up."

"What, how? I'm pretty sure—"

"She hit you with this," Aqua said, showing me a thin needle-like object.

"What the heck is that?"

"Some type of poison dart; if I didn't heal you quick enough, that sleep would've been another trip to the other side."

It was covered in a nerve toxin," Megumin clarified. "Seemed to cause short-term paralysis."

"What—who—why—"

"That's what we've been trying to find out," Darkness interrupted. "We've been interrogating her for the last couple of hours."

I looked at Megumin; I felt angry at her deceit. "Why the hell did you lie to me?!"

"I-I didn't," she quickly answered. "You, you asked me if something happened…between…**us**…"

I frowned; technically, she was right. "Why not tell me about this anyways?"

"I, I didn't want you to worry." Megumin looked incredibly remorseful. "I'm really sorry, Kazuma."

I sighed heavily, pressing my palm to my head. "…is she still alive?" I said, looking at Darkness.

Aqua answered. "She's alive; has a couple broken bones, but still alive. Hey, Darkness, maybe you should break her legs."

Such a suggestion coming from a goddess; it was things like this that really made me question the validity of Aqua's divinity.

"Oi, calm down, not yet." I got up and cast bind on the assassin; even if they were a powerful individual, breaking through mithril was not something that can be done without notice.

We dragged her out to the living room and placed her on a chair.

"Alright," I said, "wake her up, Aqua."

Aqua cast Quick Heal, and the assassin stirred; Darkness stood near her at ready.

"Kazuma, let me handle this," Megumin said with a stern look on her face; something told me not to.

"No, Megumin, you shouldn't be the one—"

"I'm the only one of us who would," She replied succinctly.

Her reply shocked me, even scared me. "No," I said with a tinge of nervousness; I cleared my throat. "We need her alive."

"We've tried the nice way, now—"

"Megumin," Darkness interrupted, "that isn't you and it's unnecessary—"

"Unnecessary?!" she yelled; her eyes flared up. "She tried to kill us!"

"So it's suddenly ok to kill her; wouldn't that make us the same?" Darkness countered.

The assassin chuckled. We all stared at her. "That little girl is the only one who's capable of it, I can tell; she has the eyes of a—"

Megumin walked up and slapped her with the top of her staff. "You don't know me, you bitch!" Megumin yelled, grabbing her by the collar. "Now start talking or I'll—"

I pulled her away. "Oi!" Megumin struggled to break free from me. "Oi, stop it! Megumin!" She continued to fight me. "Stop it, dammit!" I turned her around and stared at her. "Stop," I said softly. Megumin continued to stare at me for a few seconds, as she did, her eyes slowly dimmed and her angered breaths slowly normalized.

"Sorry," She replied almost breathlessly; Megumin swallowed deeply.

"Let me handle this, ok?" I said gently.

She nodded meekly.

I let go hesitantly; Megumin walked off to the other end of the room.

Turning my attention back to the stranger, I asked, "who sent you?"

She was massaging the inside of her cheek with her tongue and then spit out a glop of blood. "You're wasting your time; I'm not saying anything even if you plan to kill me; I was dead the moment I failed."

"Oi, we're not trying to kill you; we just want answers. If you tell us, we can ask for leniency on your behalf."

"Like I said, you're wasting your time; just hurry up and kill me—**or** you can all kill yourselves and save me the trouble."

"Stop being stubborn; your life should be more important than whatever contract you have—"

"Tch, typical; you're all just children in the end—innocent to the way things are really ran. If I leave here without the job complete, I'm done either way. If you understand this, then you know there's no compromise."

"This isn't going anywhere," Aqua stated. " She was just as stubborn when **we** tried to get her to talk."

"We can just turn her into the authorities," Darkness said.

"Yeah," I said, "but given our status, she'd be executed anyways."

"Perhaps, but I'm sure they'll try to look into this—"

"And probably will meet the same results," I finished.

"Or go free," Megumin said, from the far side of the room.

We looked back at her.

She continued. "We don't know how far this goes."

"She's right," Aqua agreed. "We don't know who's connected and who's not."

"And it doesn't seem like we'll get any answers from this one," Darkness added.

"Darkness, keep an eye on her," I said. I walked some distance away, and then signaled Aqua over.

"What?" She queried; her arms were folded in frustration.

I pulled her close and began whispering. "We're gonna do a little performance and I need you to play along, ok?"

"Huh…sure, I guess, but what do you have in mind?"

"Don't worry about it; just play along. Performances happen to be one of your only redeeming qualities, so I expect some good improv from you."

"One of my only—"

"Shhh. Alright, follow my lead."

Me and Aqua walked back.

"So," I said, "why were you hired to kill us?"

The assassin remained quiet.

"…who ordered you to do it?"

"…"

"Do you know the reason we're being targeted?"

"…"

"…ok, how much are they paying you?"

"…enough."

"How much is enough?"

"…"

Aqua understandably looked at me in confusion. "Kazuma—"

"Do you like the Axis Cult?"

Everyone raised a brow and stared at the assailant for a response.

"Pfft, a bunch of crazy fanatics; hell no."

"Really?" Aqua said; her brow was twitching.

I continued. "Did you hear—of course you must've heard; someone in your profession must have a pretty wide network of contacts, right? Did you hear about what happened to the Demon King's General, Seresdina; what they did to her?"

"What?" Aqua stared at me perplexedly. "What are you talking about—"

"Well, did you?" I asked the assassin once more; she was beginning to look somewhat uneasy.

"Wait, Kazuma," Aqua said with mild concern, "what happened?"

Ignoring Aqua, I continued to speak. "Once they knew she was a part of the Demon King's Army, they started suggesting some pretty absurd things—some pretty unreserved feelings were getting thrown out about what to do with her…"

"What's your point?" the assassin replied curtly.

"My point is, that was just the rabble; this girl here," I said, pointing to Aqua, "she's the High Priestess—"

"You mean Goddess," Aqua corrected somewhat angrily.

"See? She even calls herself their Goddess."

"I **am** their goddess—why do you guys keep denying this?!"

The assassin swallowed deeply.

"Death is too easy when it comes to these guys—you know this; if unspeakable acts were being suggested by her followers, what do you think the head of those fanatics would do?"

"You're bluffing!" she yelled nervously. "I was being questioned by her the entire—"

"night…and she hasn't slept a wink because of it. Sleep-deprived, frustrated, and crazy—"

"Crazy?!"

"—I wonder what she'll think of doing? Of course, I **could** rein in her questionable tendencies; after all, I **am** her party leader."

The attacker gulped loudly once again.

"You know what I'm saying is true; you have to be an amateur if you didn't do some background checks on your targets after all—and you don't seem to me like an amateur."

"…"

"All we need is a name…if you don't give us something"—I narrowed my eyes—"you'll definitely wish you were dead."

"I can endure torture—"

"Torture?!" I laughed. "**I **endured torture at the hands of the Demon King's daughter for a week straight—don't talk to me about torture! I'm telling **you** what they'll do to you is something even **I** couldn't withstand."

"…"

"I'm sure you've heard of an Axis Cult nun by the name of Cecily."

"…"

"She assaulted me and had me crying out for help—this one is even worse!" I shouted, pointing at Aqua once more.

"Kazuma, I'm starting to get angry!" Aqua yelled, pouting as she clenched her fist.

"…"

"Fine then," I said, "I guess I'll just leave you two alone; come on Darkness, Megumin, let's give these two—"

"Wulf," she finally said through grit teeth. "His name is Wulf."

"_Jackpot. Guess the saying holds true, fake it till you make it._ Wulf," I repeated. "Know how this 'Wulf' looks?"

"No."

Megumin interjected. "So you know his name but don't know how he looks; I find that hard to believe."

"Say what you want, girl; it'd be foolish to give away your complete identity in this world." The assassin shifted her attention to me. "I don't know anything else; now either kill me or let me go."

"Kill you or let you go?" I said. "No"—I shook my head—"I don't think so; you caused me and my friends a lot of grief. Maybe I'll turn you into the Axis Cult anyways."

The assailant thrashed about wildly, but the binds and Darkness made sure she posed no actual threat. "You, lying bastard, I'll kill you!"

"Liar? I never once said anything about letting you go. Darkness, got any place we can hold her?"

"There's the cellar," She replied.

"Good, and I think I know how we'll keep her nice and calm too," I said with a devious grin.

_**-Couple minutes later; down in the cellar…**_

"If you think you can hold me here forever, you—"

"You like to drink, Assassin-chan?"

"What are you—"

"Take a look around," I said, waving my arm out towards all the boxes of alcohol. "Nice, cool, damp cellar filled to the brim with high-grade alcohol; 26 million eris worth…give or take few."

The assassin was beginning to grasp her situation and began growing somewhat anxious.

"I'm gonna get you so pissed drunk that you won't even be able to sit straight. Aqua," I said, holding out my hand; Aqua handed me a funnel.

"I think this is a waste of all this good alcohol," She said in a slightly aggravated tone.

I ignored Aqua and uncapped one the bottles. "Let's start nice and strong, alright, Assassin-chan?" I nodded at Darkness who immediately held the assassin down firmly in place.

Megumin walked over, a stoic expression on her face and wrenched open her mouth. "Don't choke," She said maliciously.

I placed the funnel in her mouth. "Bottoms up."

_**-Sometime later…**_

"Can't believe it took two whole crates," I said in disbelief.

We were all sat in the living room somewhat exhausted by the turn of events.

"She **is** an assassin," Darkness remarked. "That's an advanced class; I'm pretty sure she has quite a few points in several resistances."

"True, but I'm more amazed she was able to fit so much of it in her stomach." I turned my attention to Aqua. "Oi, how long did you say she'd be out?"

"Huh?" Aqua look somewhat dejected; she was not happy about the application of said alcohol.

"How long will she be out?" I repeated.

"Oh, um…I think it was something like three or four hours."

"Something like? We kinda need exacts not estimates."

"It'll be long enough, ok?"

Megumin spoke. "I think we should've kept going till she exploded."

"Of course you do," I said with a sigh.

"What do you want to do with her, Kazuma?" Darkness queried.

"We can't really turn her into the authorities."

"Actually"—Darkness rubbed her chin—"I could probably turn her over to Claire."

"Umu, not a bad idea."

"I agree; Claire's definitely one of the only people we could trust wholeheartedly," Megumin commented.

"So, this 'Wulf' guy; have any of you ever heard of him during your time in the capital?"

They exchanged stares and then shook their heads.

"Seems this guy's an enigma then." I turned to look at the windows, there was light pouring through; it was already morning. "I say we go ahead and haul her over to Claire."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright then. Darkness, you're handling her; whatever you do, don't let your guard down," I instructed.

"Don't worry, Kazuma; someone this dangerous has my undivided attention."

"Good to know," I said with a sigh; part relief, part disbelief.

Soon enough we were headed towards the palace; Megumin went ahead to notify Claire we were coming. Darkness, as promised, kept her attention and (most importantly) grip on the assassin which was slung over her shoulder while Aqua and I kept watch that she didn't wake early. Fortunately (or unfortunately), since we were staring at her like hawks, me and Aqua caught the signs of her stirring.

"Oi, Darkness"—she looked over her shoulder at me—"she's waking up."

Darkness dropped her on the ground, holding the assassin's bound arms tightly behind her back.

I knelt beside her and as she woke, my assailant fixed some drowsy eyes upon me; seconds later, they sharpened as a scowl replaced the groggy expression she just had.

"Oi, you awake, already?"

"Bastard!" She fought against Darkness' grip, but to little avail.

"I'm surprised." I glanced at Aqua. "Oi, Aqua, can you tell how drunk she is at the moment?"

"Huh, what do you—"

"Her blood-alcohol level."

"Oh, um, one sec." Aqua placed her palm over the assassin's head and closed her eyes; a moment later, she opened them. "She's still pretty drunk," Aqua replied as she looked at the assassin, and then me.

"What's that supposed to mean; like is she—"

"She shouldn't really be able to put up a fight…I think."

I frowned. "Oi, are you really that useless that you can't even tell—"

"Hey, I don't see **you** giving accurate measurements!"

"Oi, aren't you an Archpriest though, isn't this the type of stuff you're supposed to excel at?"

"Huh, what kind of stupid assumption is that?!"

"…tch_._"

To be honest, I was expecting Aqua to be able to tell at a glance; with how often she got drunk, I felt it wasn't unreasonable to assume she had such capabilities; of course, it seems like I was overestimating her abilities once more.

I got up. "Oi, Darkness, stand her up."

Darkness complied; the assassin, with Darkness' efforts, staggered to her feet.

After trudging through the increasingly crowded streets for some time, we made it to the palace steps where Claire, Megumin, and a detachment of imperial knights awaited.

"Kazuma-dono," Claire said as she walked up to us, "Megumin-dono has informed me of the circumstances."

"Good, _this should be brief_," I replied.

Claire looked at the assassin, and a second later her eyes widened in shock. "Is this…impossible."

"What?"

Claire tore back the cowl the assassin wore; she shook her head and gave a faint smirk. "Nora Black, 'The Widow Maker'."

"_Hmm, with a name like that, she sounds like some hotshot assassin_. Is she someone important?" I queried.

Claire smiled, placing a hand over her face. "Besides her original moniker, she's also known lovingly throughout the capital as 'Black Widow'; she's been responsible for a vast majority of assassinations throughout the kingdom." I stared worriedly at the drunken assassin. "Despite our best efforts, she's eluded capture…till now." Claire shook her head in disbelief. "To think that you'd be the one to catch her though; the Goddess Eris must really like you, Kazuma-dono."

"Um—just out of curiosity, how many assassinations has she—"

"From the ones we know, at least twenty-four."

"Twenty—how, how come she isn't more well—"

"She isn't publicly well known in order to keep the peace; if everyone knew an assassin of her caliber was prowling, do you know the panic that would cause? Besides, her method of assassination happens to be quite discreet; if you don't know what you're looking for, you wouldn't really think much of it."

I cleared my throat nervously. "I see…and what—"

"Paralysis; she injects her targets with a toxin that causes paralysis which eventually causes death from asphyxiation."

The girls stared at me with a rather trepidatious look.

"Uh…oh." My voice came out as a squeak.

"Anyhow," Claire continued, "thank you, Kazuma-dono; you've relieved us of a major threat. I'll handle things from here."

As Claire went to grab Nora, Nora threw up causing all of us to jump back in surprise; it was the fraction of a second she needed, quickly vaulting over Darkness and darting towards the crowded square below.

"Dammit—after her!" Claire yelled at the guards; as they sped off on her orders, she quickly ran forward to join them; however, I swiftly grabbed her arm. "Kazum—"

"You need to stay here," I said.

"What—why—"

"Who's watching Iris-chan if you're not?"

Claire immediately recomposed herself. "You're right; that was nearly a fatal mistake." I let go.

Megumin added. "Not to mention, are you absolutely sure of the guards present?"

Claire's eyes widened once more. She shook her head in embarrassment. "How foolish of me…I didn't even give it any thought." She sighed heavily. "This is major error on my part—dammit; I never expected her to vomit. Come to think of it"—she scrunched her nose—"why does it smell so strongly of alcohol?"

All of us looked away.

"Nevermind that," she said hurriedly, "I'll make up for this mistake and assemble a loyal task force of knights to go after the 'Widow Maker'."

"You could always just send us," Megumin remarked, posing proudly.

"_This damn brat! _No, she can't!" I retorted. "Remember, we still have the Royal Provision to do."

"Kazuma-dono is right. Worry not, I'll take care of this; it **is** my fault that she got away. Anyhow, I shouldn't keep you all; Megumin-dono told me due to the circumstances none of you really had a good night's rest."

As she said this, the reminder seemed to cause us to feel the fatigue of little sleep. Afterwards, Claire returned to the palace while we headed back to Darkness' place.

"Kazuma," Aqua started, "aren't you worried that assassin might come back?"

I shrugged. Part of me **did** feel nervous at the thought that someone so infamous was out to get me, however, the tiredness I was feeling prevailed over the anxiety. "She's pretty screwed," I replied. "Not only did she give up the name of her client, but I'm pretty sure she can't make any big moves since the capital will be on the lookout for her; if anything, she shouldn't attack anytime soon."

"Better question," Megumin interjected. "Are we actually heading out on this quest today?"

The thought seemed to make me even more tired. I pressed my palm to my head, slowly running it down my face in exhaustion. We've been here two days past due. "No," I said somewhat dejectedly; another day gone to waste.

Aqua let out a loud sigh of relief. "Good, now I can go take nice hot bath and drink some wine; I've been wanting some ever since last night."

I frowned at her. "Are you sure you're the Goddess of Water—no scratch that, are you even really a goddess; you seem more like a drunk to me."

Aqua gasped. "How dare you, you little ingrate! Maybe I'll make it so you can never have a drink in your life. Knowing you, Kazuma, you'll probably end up doing something disgusting like drinking your own urine."

"Oi."


	4. Chapter 3: The One's who Cried Wolf

**Chapter 3: The One's who Cried Wolf**

**Part 1**

On our way back, we were assaulted by the feeling of hunger; staying up much of the night after such an adrenaline-fueled event drained our bodies of valuable resources. Aqua and Megumin headed back to the house while me and Darkness went off towards the market to buy some food for both the manor and the inevitable quest; it was agreed that traveling in pairs was the most prudent thing to do considering the situation. To my surprise, Megumin offered to go with Aqua instead of myself; however, her explanation, after the fact, made sense; Darkness was the most physically able out of all of us. If the assassin came back, me and a scrawny Megumin would stand no chance against her. To this end, I believe Megumin was looking out for me.

Darkness glanced at me as we walked.

"What?" I said.

"Oh—uh, just…there's not many times me and you go out together."

I raised my brow.

"I-I mean go out to, to buy stuff…together."

I smirked at Darkness' clumsy response. "That's true, then again, I don't really go out with you guys unless it's in a group."

"That's an obvious lie, Kazuma; you and Megumin have been going out in pairs for as long as I've known you—and even before then you traveled with Aqua."

"Well, the circumstances kind of made it that way; what I mean is that **I've** never really chosen to go out with you guys unless we were in a group."

"Huh, why's that?"

"Eh, well, I never really had any reason to; I mean…until some time ago I didn't really see any of you guys as prospective partners. In fact, Megumin just sorta…happened."

Darkness looked like she was in deep thought.

"Are you gonna ask me if I still feel the same way about you?" I said, sighing.

She looked at me abruptly, her face turning a rosy red in the process. "I-I…I…" Darkness lowered her head as her expression quickly changed from embarrassed to saddened. "I…know…how you feel…about me."

"Do you now? Darkness…there **are** times when even someone like you could be quite cute."

"S-Someone like me," Darkness stuttered, "what's that supposed to mean, Kazuma?!" Her flustered expression quickly returned.

"I mean even a perverted knight like you sometimes has her moments…even if they are few and far in between."

Glancing out the corner of my eye, I could see Darkness looking away embarrassingly; I smirked faintly.

"…does…does that mean—"

"It means you shouldn't dwell on it too much, Darkness; I don't, and look how well it's gone for me."

"Somehow that doesn't really feel reassuring."

We continued towards the marketplace. Darkness spoke once more.

"Kazuma."

"Hm?"

"If…if I, if I happen to fall in love with some—"

"As long as your fine with that person I wouldn't mind."

"You wouldn't…feel anything?"

"…to be honest…I probably would, but it's not my place to tell you who you should fall for; if you're genuinely happy then who am I to tell you otherwise?"

"So…you **would **feel bad?"

I sighed. "You're a female companion; **any** guy would feel some sort of apprehension towards their female friend getting with another guy. I think it's a normal feeling."

"So, you'd rather I kept my feelings for you then?"

"…just"—I scratched my head in frustration—"do whatever makes you feel better, Darkness."

"I see; Kazuma is the sort of guy who'd rather keep me at arm's length stunting any possibility of me getting into a relationship while he himself continues to court another woman." Darkness shuddered at the thought; her breaths becoming more pronounced as she tried to hold back her excitement.

"See, this is the reason why I can't have anything serious with you."

"S-Sorry, Kazuma, it's just that your sleezy attitude towards my feelings stirs me up inside."

"Oi!"

After an hour or so of looking through the market stalls, me and Darkness headed back to the estate with bags full of groceries.

"Do you think Aqua and Megumin are ok?" Darkness queried.

"Hmm, probably; it'd be a mistake for that assassin to show up. As stupid as Aqua can be, she's pretty formidable when she gets mad. As for Megumin, there's no doubt in my mind, if she even catches a glimpse of her, we'll be looking for another place to stay."

Darkness chuckled nervously.

"But like I said," I continued, "I doubt that assassin will attack us so soon." I said it with a sense of calm and certainty, but inside I felt the exact opposite. "Regardless, we should probably hurry back."

"Umu."

_**-Minutes later…**_

"We're back," I said as me and Darkness entered the mansion.

"Finally," Aqua said with a frown. She was lounging on the couch with a large bottle in her hand. "I'm starving!"

"Welcome back," Megumin said, relieving us of some of the things.

"Anything happen while we were away?" I asked.

"Umu," Megumin said, shaking her head. "You?"

"No, thankfully not."

"Kazuma," Darkness said.

"Yo."

"If you're too tired, I can cook for us."

"Eh, no, I'm ok with cooking."

"You're cooking is too bland, Darkness," Aqua commented. "I need something that'll go good with the taste of this alcohol."

"Oi, haven't you been drinking a bit more than usual?" I pointed out.

"Huh, what are you talking about, Kazuma; I haven't been drinking any more than I usually do."

"No, I'm pretty sure you have."

Aqua placed a finger on her chin. "…ah, right…Ambrosia oba-sama's wine tends to have that small side effect."

"_Eh, I'm really starting to see where Aqua gets most of her vices from…"_

Aqua continued. "Anyways, what'd you guys get?"

I smirked. "I bought us something good as a reward for capturing that assassin." I placed the bags on the table and pulled out a large wrapped package.

"What is it?" Megumin said; she stared in childish wonder as I began to unwrap the item.

"Marbled red crab." I replied.

"Marbled red crab!" Megumin yelled happily.

"Ohhh!" Aqua said, sitting up happily.

I continued. "I figured we should enjoy a good meal before we set out on what's undoubtedly gonna be another difficult quest."

Megumin smiled widely. "Mmm, with this I could forget about not casting Explosion for such a long time." She clasped her hands together in a praying-like fashion. "Kazuma, let me help with the cooking."

"Oh?"

"You know my specialty is shellfish; together, we'll make this marbled crab the envy of the gods."

"Oh, that so?" Aqua said with a smirk. "Well, if you're making such a grand claim, I guess I can be the judge. Just so you know, Heaven has amazing food; it'll be pretty difficult to beat such cuisine."

"That a challenge?" Megumin grinned, and then rolled up her sleeves. "Come on, Kazuma, let's do this."

I smiled; despite their flaws and oft-raucous behaviors, the girl's festive attitudes could be infectious.

"What can **I** do?" Darkness queried.

Aqua answered. "You can help with the taste test; although you're not a denizen of Heaven, Darkness, you're still a noble."

And so, me and Megumin headed off to the kitchen with the crab and bundle of groceries. As I thought about what to serve with the crab, Megumin spoke.

"Kazuma, let me handle the flavor for the broth."

"Hmm, oh, sure. Any idea what you guys want alongside the crab?"

Megumin smiled. "**I'm** fine with anything you decide; I'm sure Darkness and Aqua feel the same"

"Yeah, but aren't we doing this as a challenge?"

Megumin shook her head, a confident smirk on her face. "Are you worried, Kazuma? Anything you make is sure to be good. The point isn't to make some original or unique recipe, but to show Aqua that we can cook as good as the best of them."

"Hmm, fair point. In that case, how does steamed vegetables and potatoes sound? I think they'd complement the sauce."

"Umu, sounds good," Megumin replied as she began filling a large pot with water.

"Actually, last time we ate it with ponzu sauce, right? I got a couple other sauces we can try."

"Kazuma," Megumin said, eyes beginning to glow, "let's make a meal packed with explosive taste."

"Heh, you've been waiting to say that, haven't you?" I began to unpack several vegetables from the bags.

Megumin grinned and then lay her head on my arm; she looked up at me and smiled gently.

"What?" I said, mildly taken aback by her cuteness.

She closed her eyes briefly, smile still present. A moment later, she opened them once more; they shined brilliantly. "…nothing." Megumin pulled away and diligently went back to work.

I could feel myself smile ever so slightly; I turned away just enough so she couldn't see it and continued with my own set of tasks.

After nearly an hour of prepping, steaming, and boiling, the food was done.

"Here," Megumin said, scooping a spoonful of the water the crab cooked in, "taste it." She guided the spoon to my mouth.

I took a sip and closed my eyes in delight. "Megumin, you're getting really good at this."

She grinned childishly.

Then **I **also said, "Here". I scooped a bit of dipping sauce on my finger and pushed it into her mouth.

Megumin was slightly surprised by the abrupt action, but her face quickly expressed amusement. "Ohhh, what is this?" She said, licking her lips.

"I don't really remember what it's called, but you make it with a bit of ketchup, wine, and sour cream; you could also use brandy for a bit of a kick."

"Has a sort of sweet & sour taste…tangy?"

"There's also classic butter and the ponzu sauce if you guys don't like it."

"No, no, it's good." Megumin took another fingertip of the sauce and smiled at the flavor.

As we exited the kitchen with trays and plates, Darkness got up to help us set the table.

Aqua sat with an exasperated look on her face. "Finally," she said with a pout. "I've been starving all this time."

"_Tch—this ungrateful…_"

"Don't forget we're hungry too, Aqua," Megumin remarked.

After the table was set, we took our seats; me and Megumin sat next to each other while Darkness sat across from me and Aqua from Megumin.

"ITADAKIMASU!" We all yelled before promptly tearing into the food.

All of us froze after we took our first bite; our anxiety and fatigue seemed to melt away as the overwhelming taste filled us with much gusto.

Darkness was the first to comment on the flavor. "I didn't think red marbled crab could get much better than what it already is, but this…this is—"

"Heavenly!" Aqua remarked, savoring the flavor in her mouth.

The rest of us were no different; even me and Megumin were completely blown away by what we made.

"Try it with this sauce!" Megumin said, offering the new one I made.

Aqua and Darkness quickly dipped the crab legs in and slurped away the insides. Their eyes went wide for a couple of seconds, but then quickly relaxed into a sort of lethargic expression. After all was said and done, there was nothing left on the table but empty bottles and plates of empty shells. I was full and tired, and by the look of it, so was everyone else; we all sat back rubbing our bellies lazily.

"Listen up," I said, somewhat listlessly, "tomorrow we're absolutely going on this quest; so…get some rest."

As I began to get up from the table, Megumin yelled out, "Wait!".

"What is it?" I said as we all looked at her.

"W-We should all sleep together." The rest of us stared between ourselves, and then back at her. "I mean for safety; we don't want a repeat of what happened last night."

"Right," Aqua said with a grin. "Megumin, you just want to sleep with Kazuma."

"Well…I mean, sure, I guess…but if that was the case, I'd just go; I wouldn't really make an announcement."

I wanted to laugh at such an honest response, but I settled on a grin; what a forward girl.

"Actually," Darkness said, "that's not a bad idea, Megumin; if we're all together, an assassination attempt **should** be more difficult to pull off."

"Wouldn't it be easier on the count of us all being in one place?" I posed.

"The only reason we were alerted to the assassin in the first place was because of the barrier I put down," Aqua remarked. "I'll just put another one down; we don't all have to sleep in one place."

"Not like it matters anyways; me and you slept together for months, Aqua."

"Doesn't mean I enjoyed it—"

"Me neither, but if it bothers you that much then you're more than welcome to sleep in your own room; same goes for the rest of you."

"But, Kazuma," Megumin began, "aren't you worried something bad might happen if you sleep alone?"

"Eh, well, sorta, b-but I'm a grown man; I'm not about to let some failed assassination attempt scare me." I gulped loudly as I smirked proudly.

Aqua grinned. "Who are you trying to fool, Kazuma? We all know you're a scaredy cat."

"Oi, my fears are justifiable; who wouldn't be afraid if they knew some professional assassin was out to kill them?!"

"Hmm." Darkness rubbed her chin in thought. "What if there's more than one?"

"Oi, Darkness, what the hell; you trying to make me stay up all night?!"

"Don't worry, Kazuma; I opt to sleep by your side tonight—in order to make sure you're safe."

"And I will too," Megumin said.

We all stared at Aqua.

"Fine!" she yelled. "Humph, I guess having a goddess nearby will help you sleep."

Even though they agreed to keep me safe from further assassinations, the thought occurred to me, why weren't **they **the subjects of such things as well?

After the meal, we all took baths. It was the early afternoon, but we were ready to sleep. Since my bed was damaged from the previous night, we all decided to sleep in Aqua's room which was on the second floor. Speaking of, Aqua was the first to fall asleep; she was on the farthest edge of the bed, followed by Megumin. Darkness slept next to me and closest to the entrance of the room.

"Oi, Darkness," I said as I stared at the ceiling, "you still awake?"

"Umu, what's wrong, Kazuma?"

"Eh, nothing…just wondering since the other two have fallen asleep."

"…Kazuma."

"Hmm?"

"Go to sleep; I'll sleep last."

"_Darkness is really taking this seriously._ Hey, you know, Darkness, I don't really think"—I was careful not to raise any flags—"this is necessary."

"Necessary or not, Kazuma, we can't be too cautious; the fact is, there was an attempt on your life not too long ago."

This was true.

Darkness continued. "I'm surprised though."

"Hmm, about what?"

"I would expect you to be more than happy to be"—Darkness began to murmur—"bunched up between us."

"Oh…I mean"—I looked over to my left; Megumin was drooling with a smile on her face. Then my right; Darkness' gown-covered back—"it's not…bad…I guess."

"Y-You guess? S-Such a lukewarm response. What's happened to your lust-filled tendencies, Kazuma; have they dried up?"

"Oi, stop thinking I'm a guy who lacks all self-control; I'm more than capable of sleeping between **you** guys without getting excited."

We went quiet for several minutes, then Darkness spoke once more.

"Has…anything happened…between…"

"Me and Megumin; like what exactly?" I knew what Darkness was referring to, however, I wanted her to voice it.

"…you know…"

"Hmmm, I don't think I do—"

"S-Stop being so…dense, Kazuma. You absolutely know what I'm talking about."

"No," I replied. "Nothing's really happened between us."

Darkness looked over her shoulder in surprise.

"What?" I said, frowning at her genuine look of shock.

"Nothing, I-I just thought"—she turned back around and began to speak in a low tone—"that you guys would've…"

I sighed. I was contemplating telling her what happened a couple months ago, but ultimately decided against it.

"Oi, Darkness."

"Hmm?"

"I'm falling asleep." I pulled the blanket up and turned my back to her.

As I closed my eyes, I felt Darkness press her back closely against my own; for some reason this seemingly innocent act made me somewhat nervous. With extra effort, I closed my eyes once more and forced myself to sleep.

_**-Next Morning…**_

"I can't believe you're making us walk," Aqua said, her brows knit in frustration.

"Oi, you're not even carrying anything—not to mention you've gotten the most amount of rest between all of us!"

"Hey, it's not easy maintaining a barrier, you know!"

I sucked my teeth. "Whatever, just—"

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said, tugging on my sleeve, "look."

I looked in the direction she was pointing.

"Hey, isn't that the man from the restaurant?" Darkness remarked.

"It is," I replied, confirming with Farsight.

"It looks like he's harassing someone else," Aqua said, crossing her arms.

I focused my sight on the person the man was talking to; this person was robed as well, but going form the height and stature, it was pretty obvious this person was a girl.

"Oi, everybody hide," I instructed.

We took cover within a small ditch on the side of the road.

"What's going on?" Megumin asked me.

"Hold on, let me see."

Using Farsight in conjunction with my Lip-Read skill, I began to discern pieces of the conversation.

"Don't forget, if you don't want your sister to be harmed, you'll get the intel I've been asking for."

"But Wulf-sama—"

The man quickly grabbed the girl by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "Don't. you. Ever. Say my name," He growled.

"Kazuma," Darkness said, her face expressing a mixture of worry and anger.

"Yeah, I know, I got it; that's the man," I said. "It's Wulf."

"Wait," Megumin said, "that's the guy who sent the assassin after you?"

"Kazuma!" Darkness said slightly louder; she was growing anxious.

"Ok, let's go!"

We ran towards the man named Wulf. When he saw us, he let go of the girl. She collapsed coughing deeply, grasping her neck as she did.

"So, **you're** Wulf!" I said.

He sucked his teeth as he looked down at the robed girl. "See what you did? Get out of my sight and remember what we talked about."

The girl nodded weakly, and then ran past us; as she did, I caught a glimpse of her face and it stirred feelings of familiarity; I've seen this girl before…but where?

"Well, no point in covering up," Wulf said, lowering the hood of his cloak.

Seeing his face clearly, it was indeed the man from the restaurant. Besides his graying hair, and wild yellow eyes, he bore three large scars across the side of his cheek. And he was tall, really tall; he towered over Darkness and to be honest, was probably the tallest person I've seen by far.

"I wanted to avoid doing things messily," he said with a grin; his canines were slightly enlarged. "It seems like at the end of the day, beating things to a pulp seems to be the best way to get results."

Darkness quickly took a defensive stance in front.

"Now then," he said, lowering himself into a fighting posture, "LET'S SEE IF YOU ARE WHAT YOU'RE WRAPPED UP TO BE, DEMON KING SLAYER!"

He was upon us before any of us could react. He grabbed Darkness' head and flung her around like a doll, tossing her into Aqua, instantly incapacitating her. The next instant, he stood in front of Megumin. Stunned by the ferocity of the assault, Megumin still hadn't registered his presence.

"Pay attention, little bunny!"

With this, Megumin snapped out her trance and went to defend, however, Wulf was too quick; he slung his arm back, whipped his hand into a fist, and punched as hard as he seemingly could. I instinctively reacted, pushing Megumin out the way and catching the full strength of the punch to my gut.

The force was enough to instantly cause me to double over, the pain nearly enough to render me unconscious; I was paralyzed by the agony shooting through every part of my body. All the air was knocked free from my lungs, and as much as I wanted to breath in, I couldn't.

"Me…gumin…run," I said breathlessly.

I could hear her gulp, but she stood her ground. _"What a foolish girl," _I thought as I stared at her standing defiantly._ "No, I can't…move…Megumin…"_

Wulf cracked his knuckles. "Heh, does the bunny have fangs or is she all talk; SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"

He smiled excitedly, pulling his arm back once more. Despite knowing what was coming, Megumin stood resolute.

The punched smashed into Darkness' arms.

"Megumin, run!" She yelled.

"Oh, I'm surprised you recovered! How about we go all the way then!"

Wulf unleashed a flurry of blows smashing Darkness' armor to pieces; each consecutive hit, causing her to slide back some. In spite of the furious assault, Darkness didn't budge, but neither did Wulf relent. With each blow, Wulf smiled wider, his punches growing wilder, his actions becoming more animalistic in nature.

He cackled loudly. "Amazing, you won't break no matter how hard I hit you!" Raising his arms widely over his head, he smashed down with both hands on Darkness' guard. She finally yelled out in pain as her knees buckled from the impact. Without letting up, Wulf lifted Darkness off the ground and drove her head-first into it.

"Now then," He said, turning back to Megumin who was frozen in shock.

Darkness grabbed his leg. "Where…do you…think…you're going?" She said through a clenched smile; her hair was disheveled, and streaks of blood streamed from the top of her head down her face.

The man looked completely astonished for a moment, however, his expression changed; he looked like a boy who was having the time of his life.

He laughed loudly. "Amazing…amazing; I'll take my time with **you** lady knight but let me finish off this annoying gnat first."

"Ara, ara, what do we have here?" It was the voice of a woman.

Wulf stopped and turned halfway to see her. "Who might **you** be?" He said; there was frustration in his voice.

The woman in question wore a shiny suit of white and silver armor; it appeared to be a hybrid of light and heavy. On its back was a gilded cape perched, flowing freely in the wind. From my blurred vision, I could barely make out her features but even so, I could see her golden blonde hair wrapped in a thick and singular long braid, the vibrant blue eyes, and the amazing body which was only matched by a certain goddess. On her hip she wore a long sword which looked a lot like Iris' own and on her arm, was a small attached shield.

"Is a big strong man like you really bullying a little girl?"

"This doesn't concern you…leave."

"I'm afraid—"

Wulf swiped his arm with such ferocity that the sound it made cutting through the air was clearly audible. Nevertheless, the woman blocked the strike effortlessly; as it connected, the shockwave kicked up the surrounding dust and lose gravel. A second later, Wulf darted away.

"…how rude," the woman remarked.

"Tch…fine," Wulf said. "I can see when I overstayed my welcome; I'll show myself out." He pulled out a scroll and a second later, he was gone.

**Part 2**

"Who, who are you?" Megumin asked, still holding a defensive posture.

"Oh, forgive me," the woman said, turning towards us. "My name is Atagawa Ami."

She walked up to Darkness and knelt down beside her. "Heal," She said. She then got up and did the same to me.

"Heal?" I queried in confusion. "How are you able to use healing spells; are you a Knight?"

"Ah, well, we should probably go discuss a couple things back in town."

Megumin interjected. "We were off to do a quest."

"Hmm, still, it's probably best to postpone that for a bit."

"We have," I interrupted. "This is like the third time we've tried to set out only to be stopped by some event."

Ami smirked and then looked away slightly. "Seems like maybe the gods are trying to tell you something."

I sighed. "Gods or not, I…this needs to get done."

"I assure you, once you're done buying me a drink, you can head right back out."

"Huh?"

"Oh, you didn't think I came to rescue you guys for free; a drink is all I'm asking for in return, not a bad deal, right?"

As much I wanted to curse out this busty onee-san, she **did** just save us. "Ugh, fine."

_**-On the way back…**_

"So, let me get this straight," I said. "You're a Champion, a sort of 'Elite' class?"

"Yup," she replied happily. "Like I said, it's a hybrid of the Crusader and Archpriest classes."

Megumin interjected. "I know you've said this already, but…this is the first time I've ever heard of anything called an 'Elite' class."

"It's not surprising; there are only a handful of Elites in recorded history, and as far as I know, I'm the only Elite around."

"_This Elite class sounds a lot like the Multiclass system; I thought it was only available to Heroes though._ Ami-san, can you explain to me how it works; obtaining an Elite class."

"Ah, of course. An Elite class is simply a hybrid class formed by the complete mastery of at least two advanced classes."

"But I thought you could only choose one class at a time?" Megumin interposed.

"That **is** the case, but you **can** class change. If you manage to master two advanced classes, you'll open a new class, an Elite class. The reason you don't see so many Elites running around is because most people don't ever manage to master one class let alone two; and even those that do, rarely ever change out of that class."

"So, you mastered the Crusader and Archpriest classes?" Aqua questioned.

"That's right."

"_If what this lady was saying is true, her level must be ridiculously high. _Oi, Ami-san, what do you mean by 'master', does it mean to learn everything in that class?"

"Umu. Mastery means to learn every available skill and/or spell in that class **and **master **them** as well."

"_So, it isn't just enough to learn all the abilities, but to 'Master' those too…insane…the amount of time and experience one would have to have…she looks so young though."_

"Atagawa," Megumin said. "Sounds a lot like Japanese."

Ami stared at her with mild surprise. "Japanese? I'm a descendent of one of the heroes who was destined to defeat the Demon King."

"_Ah, I see, that explains a couple things._ Oi, Ami-san, from what I've been told, heroes usually marry into the royal family, right; does that mean—"

"Kazuma-san, **you're** a hero, aren't you; and yet, you chose to marry Megumin-san here."

We all stared at her abruptly. "How do you—"

"Who doesn't? Nearly everyone in the entire kingdom was present for the ceremony; your marriage was announced there, wasn't it? Not to mention the enormous party afterwards; you'd have to be living under a rock not to know."

"Ah, makes sense."

Eventually, we made it back to the capital and headed to the guild hall. After sitting down, we ordered food and drinks.

As we sat waiting, Ami spoke. "Hey, Aqua-chan, are you part of the Axis Order?"

"She's their leader," I answered somewhat flatly.

"Goddess!" she corrected, frowning at me. She then turned towards Ami. "That's right, Ami-san."

"The Axis Order is filled with a bunch of good people."

I couldn't stop my outburst of laughter. Aqua once again looked at me angrily. "You must be thinking about another Axis Order, because—"

"No, Kazuma-san, I'm talking about **the** Axis Order; they're a devoted bunch who know how to live life to the fullest."

"Are you part of the Axis Order too, Ami-chan?" Aqua said with a smile.

"Ah, well"—she scratched her head—"no; I serve Ambrosia-sama."

Aqua smiled even wider. "Ambrosia-sama?!"

"Kind of odd," I said. "I don't really see too many followers of Ambrosia."

Ami smiled. "Ambrosia-sama doesn't really need overt acts of devotion; people serve her willing or unwittingly. So, whether someone chooses to follow the Goddess Aqua, Eris, or any other, it matters not; in the end, they all follow Ambrosia-sama one way or another."

As the Goddess of Drinks, Festivities, and Fertility I could definitely see the truth in such a statement.

Our drinks arrived a moment later.

"Four beers and a cup of juice," the barmaid said, placing the drinks in front of their corresponding owners.

Afterwards, she left.

"Juice?" I said, looking at Megumin in surprise.

"Why are you so surprised? You were here when I order it just a while ago."

"I know, but still; swearing off alcohol now?"

She grinned, and then quickly swapped drinks with Darkness.

"Hey, Megumin, that's—"

"I won the challenge, remember?"

"Wait, what"—Darkness cut herself off and pressed her palm to her head—"…right…"

"Megumin drank eleven while you drank ten, Darkness," Aqua said as she sipped away the froth of her beer.

"Ugh, I know, but—"

"No excuses," Megumin said. Even though she swindled Darkness out her drink, she made no attempts to ingest any of it.

Ami laughed lightly. "Seems like I missed a good time."

"No," I said, "just the making of more problems."

She laughed again. "Hey, I know you guys are busy, but would you spend a little time with me?"

Everyone turned their attention to me. "What?" I said, somewhat aggravated.

"Well, I mean, you're our party leader," Darkness said.

I sighed, and then smiled weakly. "Screw it, we've already pushed this off a couple days, what's a couple more hours."

As we finished our first round of drinks, our food came. Ami was indeed a follower of Ambrosia; she knocked back drinks one after another without any signs of stopping or inebriation. After our fifth round, I noticed something peculiar; none of us showed any signs of drunkenness, even Megumin, who at this point would be swaying like a tree in the wind.

"Hey," I said, whispering into Megumin's ear.

She jumped in alarm and turned to me saying, "What?!"

"Oi, do you feel drunk?"

"Huh, what are you"—suddenly, Megumin realized it too—"no, I don't…do you?"

"Not in the slightest. Maybe our tolerance is a bit higher."

"I feel a little warm, but that's about it."

"Hey!" Aqua yelled, "What are you two whispering about over there?!"

I answered. "Eh, well, do you feel…drunk?"

"Huh…no, actually…" Aqua said with a raised brow.

"Ah, don't worry guys," Ami said. "I've asked Ambrosia-sama for a boon. I've made new friends today, so it calls for a celebration; if we were to get drunk and forget it all, it'd be ruined."

"So, this is **your** doing?" Megumin queried.

"Ambrosia-sama's."

"If that's the case," Aqua said, "no need to hold back, right, Kazuma?"

"Uh—well…I guess. Oi, Ami-san, this isn't gonna have any adverse effects, right?"

"You don't have to worry; as long as I'm still around and drinking, the boon should be in effect."

"What exactly is this boon?" Darkness asked.

"Well, for starters, you won't get drunk, but you should still get as far as feeling a bit numb; second, you shouldn't have to urinate, third, you won't feel any fatigue—"

I interrupted excitedly. "Oi, oi, this is pretty amazing stuff; do you just get to use this any time you want?"

Ami chuckled. "Well, for the most part, but I try not abuse it."

Eventually, time ran away from us; there were so many empty mugs that there was no place to put others down. We spent most of the time drinking and regaling Ami with stories of our adventures. Finally, when the sun was high in the sky, we decided to call it.

"Ahhh." Ami let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, guys; I had a lot of fun."

"Don't mention it," Aqua replied. "Anytime you wanna relax you can just stop by our mansion in Axel."

She smiled. "I'll be sure to remember that, Aqua-chan. I'd like to do something for you guys in return though."

"Huh?" We all looked at her in surprise.

"What'd you have in mind?" I said.

"I'd like to teach you some skills that should come in handy."

"Oh?"

"Umu, I'll walk with you guys to where we met; I'll teach you there."

After paying our tab, we left and headed back the length of road on the city outskirts.

"Alright, first I'd like to teach, Darkness-san some skills; I was amazed how far she was willing to go to protect her friends."

"_Eh, I'm pretty sure she was just enjoying the thrashing she was receiving."_

"Ok, Darkness-san, watch closely; this first skill is a powerful one, you might not even have enough skill points to acquire it at this moment. The skill is called 'Absolution'."

"Absolution?" Darkness said in mild bewilderment.

"Never heard of it; I'm not surprised. It's a high risk, high reward skill; for one minute you're practically invulnerable to anything and everything."

"How's that bad?" I interjected.

"After the minute is up, all the damage you received during that time is applied instantaneously; it **is ** reduced by a good amount but using this skill recklessly will only prove to send you to an earlier grave. As such, the skill costs thirty points to learn. Oh, I forgot to mention, any healing is also deferred during this time."

"_I see…it __**is**__ quite risky…but to this perverted Crusader, it might be her undoing; Darkness isn't really the type to evade incoming damage."_

"The other skill is one that's rarely learned by most Crusaders; it's called, 'Siphon Pain'."

Darkness instantly latched onto Ami's arms with a speed that blindsided not only us, but amazingly, even Ami herself.

"T-T-Teach me this skill, p-please, Ami-san!"

"Uh"—Ami coughed with slight discomfort—"to think you'd be so willing to endure pain for your comrades; you're a model knight through and through, Darkness-san."

"_No, Ami-san, she's just a pleasure-seeking masochist, and right now you're offering her, her Holy Grail._ Listen, Ami-san, I think Darkness could probably go without learning Siphon—_"_

Darkness instantly twisted my wrist. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…"

"N-No, Ami-san, I must absolutely, positively learn this skill; look at how much pain Kazuma's in. If I ever saw him in such state, I couldn't live with myself."

"Ahhhh, you're the one causing it!" I yelled.

"Ahem, very well; I shall teach you both these skills, Darkness-san."

After a couple of minutes, Darkness succeeded in learning both skills. Surprisingly, she had enough points stored up to learn both at once.

"Alright, Aqua-chan, you're next; I could—"

"Don't bother," I said. "She already knows all of the Archpriest skills."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Mhm," Aqua said, standing proudly.

"Wow, you're more amazing than I even thought, Aqua-chan."

"Oh, it's nothing, really."

"_Look at this freeloader showboating."_

"Unfortunately, I don't really have any skills I can exclusively teach you or Megumin-san, Kazuma-san."

"Eh, it's alright. _If anything, I'll just learn whatever skill I need from the girls._"

"Listen, Kazuma-san. If you're headed off to defeat the other Demon Kings, then I highly advise tackling them in a certain order."

This instantly surprised us; how did Ami know there were other Demon Kings?

"Wait, you know about the other Demon Kings?"

"Umu," she said, nodding. "I come from the far east; it's where I was born. Kazuma-san, I'll tell you right now; you all aren't ready for that place." Her jovial demeanor changed to a serious one.

"Why?"

"Put simply, it's Hell on Earth; the west is a parody of what the east is. There are no kings or powerful heroes, there are no fertile lands, no guilds, or knights…there are barely people. I make no exaggeration when I say to expect the worst when and **if** you decide to travel there."

I gulped. If she was born in such a hellish place, then I could start to see how she became so strong.

"Ami-san," Megumin interrupted, "didn't you say you're a descendent of a hero; but just now you also said there an no heroes in the east."

We all stared at Ami in response.

She nodded. "I'm of heroic descent, however, my parents were born in the east; as far as I know, the hero was not." She continued. "Listen, if you're planning on slaying other Demon Kings, I'd recommend attacking any other place **but** the east first. If you're really so inclined, your adventures will eventually take you there, but like I said earlier, as you guys are now, you stand no chance."

Megumin spoke once more. "How can you be so sure?"

"The guy you fought with earlier, Wulf; just from a single attack, I could tell he was probably around level sixty. If he caused you that much trouble, then even normal monsters will destroy you if you head east."

"What the hell?" I said out loud; I couldn't restrain my disbelief at the information she was giving us. "How strong are the monsters in the east then?"

Ami rubbed her chin in thought. "I'd recommend being **at least** level seventy; even then, I wouldn't really recommend going much farther than the Gorgon Heights."

"Gorgon Heights?"

"The mountain pass that connects the northern half of the eastern lands to the south; the worst of it lies beyond the southern half towards the eastern islands," Ami added.

"_Things just got a lot more complicated."_

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Demon Kings themselves?" I asked.

"Well, I don't know if my knowledge is outdated, so take it with a grain of salt. What I know of the northern Demon King is that he wields a powerful explosive weapon—"

"Explosive?!" Megumin interrupted.

"Oi, calm down, Megumin; let her finish."

"Umm, yeah, an explosive weapon; supposedly, this weapon is what helped the Demon King conquer the land uncontested. The main resistance comes from the Kingdom of Dwarves, Dargon. The Elvish Kingdom, Sylvein that lies to the south of Dargon also lends its support informally."

"I see. _Geez, I didn't realize things were so bad outside of Belzerg._ How about the south?"

Ami closed her eyes in recollection. "Umm, I think…it was conquered quite recently. Unlike the north, the south is completely subservient to the Demon King—or in the very least, you won't find any active rebellious factions. Actually, I've heard some people who come from the south call the Demon King, "The People's Tyrant".

"…and…the east?"

Ami knit her brow once more. "I haven't traveled east for a long time, but if I had to guess, the Demon King is still probably the same. All I really know about him is he lives out on the sea; has a group of Demons calling themselves 'Minerva's Devils'."

"I see. Thanks for everything, Ami-san."

"Umu, no worries; I'm sure we'll see each other again. Stay alive guys and good luck on your quest."

Ami walked back towards the capital; we waved at her and she waved back. After she disappeared beyond our sight, Megumin brought up an interesting point.

"Hey, Kazuma," she said.

"Hmm?"

"Doesn't she look familiar?"

"Erm, now that you say so…"

"She looks a lot like Ambrosia oba-sama," Aqua remarked.

"She does, doesn't she? Although, she looks younger."

"And her personality is a bit different as well," Megumin added.

"She just looks like her, guys," Aqua said resolutely. "Ambrosia oba-sama wouldn't have any reason to come down here and besides…only irresponsible goddesses do things like neglect their heavenly duties."

I stared blankly at the goddess who uttered this ironic statement. "Ok guys, we've lost a lot of time; we should get going before it starts to get dark."

And so, we continued down the road until the capital was far behind us, a mere bump on the horizon; by then, it was already evening.

"Kazuma, my feet are starting to hurt," Aqua announced. She trudged along with a slight frown on her face.

I ignored her as I stared at the map and quest log. _"According to this, we should be about a day and a half out; not bad considering our method of travel."_

"Kazuma," Megumin said, tugging on my sleeve, "I'm kinda in the same boat as Aqua; my feet are starting to hurt."

"*Sigh* Alright, we've made some pretty good progress; we can rest. Oi, Darkness," I said, turning to her, "see any place we can make camp?"

She looked around for a moment. "Mostly plains out here, some hills in the distance…woods farther out; we should probably make camp either on the plains or on the top of a hill."

"Hey, how about that tree in the distance?" I pointed at a large tree off the side of the road.

"Hmm, I don't see why not."

With our campsite chosen, we reached the large tree.

"Hey, Kazuma, look," Darkness said as she pointed at a pitched tent; there was also a snuffed-out campfire.

"Oh, looks like someone else had the same idea," Aqua said happily.

"Hmm, I guess that helps," I said with a smile.

Aqua and Megumin laid against the trunk of the tree, their legs outstretched, their feet absorbing the soft heat of the flames. I sat by the fireside making a quick stew while Darkness was putting the finishing touches on the tent.

"The tent is kind of small," Darkness informed as she joined us by the fire. "It looks like it was made with just one person in mind."

"Well, it's obvious that I'll be the one to sleep in it," Aqua remarked.

"Like hell you are," I retorted. "Why don't we play rock-paper—"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, you cheat!"

"Oi, don't blame your terrible skills on me!"

"It has nothing to do with skill!"

"Goodnight," Megumin said from inside the tent.

"Oi, what do you think—"

"Just let her take the tent, Kazuma," Darkness said. "It's small enough that any one of us would probably stick out from it."

I sighed; looking at the tent, Darkness was right; even Megumin barely fit in it. "Fine. _Not like sleeping under the stars is something alien to me anyways."_

After the rest of us ate, Darkness and Aqua fell asleep against the tree; I was to stand watch. Some hours passed; it was soon to be Aqua's turn at overwatch.

"Ugh…pee," I said, groggily rubbing my eyes.

I stood up and went around the opposite side of the tree. As I pissed, I let out a yawn when suddenly I felt something wrap around my neck and hoist me off the ground. I kicked wildly and instinctively tried to remove what felt like a strong, wet cord around my neck. A pain shot through my hands; there was something sharp attached to this rope.

"HELP!" I yelled out raspingly, but no one came.

The cord tightened; what was doing this, was it another assassin, the same, was it Wulf?

"HELP!" I shouted once more as a hoarse whisper.

"Kazuma?" Aqua said as she came around from the front of the tree; she was rubbing her eyes wearily. "Where is he? Humph…if he's doesn't wanna sleep, I'm going back."

"_This damn…"_ My vision was starting to tunnel. I kicked wildly once more, and I could feel my pants slide off completely; as they hit the floor, Aqua turned around.

"Ah, Kazuma, what are you doing up there!"

I could only let out a choking sound as I squirmed against the tightening pressure around my neck.

"Don't worry, I'll get you—"

Suddenly, Aqua was taken as well; now we were both being strangled for our dear lives.

"_USELESS!"_

"Aqua?!" Darkness said as she came around. She laid eyes on the situation before her. "Kazuma! This tree, I should've known—it's a Hangman's Tree."

Ignoring the agonizing pain in hands, I managed to make enough room between the what I now realized were vines.

I took a deep breath and yelled, "Get me down, you idiot!"

"Ah, of course!" Darkness withdrew her sword. "I got you guys!" She hesitated, staring with a lewd smile.

"DARKNESS!"

"Oh right, sorry!" She swung her sword.

THUNK!

But it got stuck in the tree. "Ah, Kazuma, my sword, it got—"

The vines took her as well. "K-Kazuma, this feeling—gak—it's tightening."

"Y-You idiot! _No, not like this, not like this!_"

"What's going on?" Megumin said drowsily.

"_Megumin? That's right, she could get us down._ Megumin!" I yelled, pulling back the vines once more. "Careful, these vines, they'll grab you!"

"Vines?" She quickly took a defensive posture. "Don't worry, guys, I'll get you down!"

"You can use Darkness' sword, quick!" Megumin began running away. _"Wait…what is she"_—Megumin raised her staff in the air—"No, wait—_that idiot, she's gonna kill us!"_

"EXPLOOSSION!"

_**-Minutes later…**_

I shook her limp body angrily. "You explosive maniac, what gave you the idea to use Explosion so close to us?!"

Megumin smiled as if she just relieved herself of an enormous burden.

"Stop smiling!"

"B-But, Kazuma, it worked out, didn't it; don't you trust my skills as an Explosion master?"

I frowned. "It's not your skills that I'm worried about, it's the fact that you chose to use Explosion so close to us!"

"I agree that was a bit dangerous," Aqua said, picking the leaves out her hair, " but it **did** work out in the end."

Darkness sat despondently; I could only guess this pervert missed the feeling of being strangled.

I looked back where the tree was; most of it was gone. Only the small portion of the trunk and the branches where we hung were still present; the rest of the area was a smoking crater.

"I hope you didn't just blow away all our supplies with your little stunt."

Megumin chuckled nervously, her eyes slowly moving away from my own.

Luckily, when we made it back, the packs were still intact; apparently, they were blown away from the campsite when the Explosion went off. So, besides having to pick up a few scattered items, there were no real setbacks.

Darkness pried her sword loose from the small portion of tree still left standing and sheathed it. "Since the tree's gone, we **could **set camp back up."

"No," I replied, giving mana to Megumin, "that Explosion probably attracted unwanted attention."

"I'm still tired," Aqua stated.

"Yeah?!" I said angrily. "So am I; did you forget, I didn't exactly **get** to rest. Tch..." I sighed heavily. "We'll make camp up ahead. Come on."

Darkness picked up the packs and we went on our way.

**Part 3**

Upon arriving at our new campsite on top of a hill, we looked around to make sure there were no oddities. After several minutes of this and finding nothing, we made camp and settled into our own tent. It was large enough to fit all of us if we packed in real tight; because of this, we seldom took just the one, however, since we were walking, bringing two relatively bulky tents was out of the question. Luckily, there would only be three of us in the tent at a time since one of us would be standing watch, which in this case was Aqua.

"Remember, Aqua," I said, "no barriers and get rid of your divine aura."

"I got it, I got it," She said in frustration.

Afterwards, Aqua squatted in front of the tent and began playing with the dirt.

"Oi, I better not wake up to something terrible happening, YOU HEAR ME?!"

"I told you, I got it already!"

I was wholly unconvinced by Aqua's replies, but ultimately, I was sleepy and wanted to get some rest. I closed the flap of tent, shut off the small lantern in the corner, and fell asleep.

The morning light faintly pierced the walls of the tent, waking me. I yawned, stretching as I did, when I realized I was near the wall; normally, with three of us, this wouldn't be the case. I sat up.

"_1...2…3…4." _I counted on my hands. "Oi!" I yelled.

Aqua stirred. Megumin and Darkness woke abruptly.

"Oi, you damn loafer, what the hell are you doing in here?!"

"Huh?" she said wearily, "you're being too loud, I'm trying to—"

I grabbed her by collar. "Oi, who was standing watch if you're in here?!"

"Relax," she said, pulling away my hands. "I made sure we were safe."

"Huh, don't tell me you put down a barrier, didn't I—"

"I remember what you said; I figured the problem was putting one **near** the campsite, so instead, I put a bunch of them **around ** the campsite."

I stared at her incredulously. _"She can't…Aqua can't be…this girl can't be __**that**__ stupid."_

"Don't worry, Kazuma, I made sure they were far enough away too." After saying this, she laid back down in an attempt to sleep.

I quickly unzipped the front of the tent and ran outside. Around the entire foot of the hill were undead shuffling endlessly against the barrier.

"YOU IDIOT!" I yelled as I ran back inside.

"What's wrong, Kazuma?" Darkness said as she got up.

"Why don't you guys take a look!"

Megumin and Darkness stepped out and immediately recoiled in surprise.

"What, what happened?" Darkness said in disbelief.

"What happened?! What happened was that our genius Archpriest decided to put a bunch of barriers up when I explicitly told her NOT TO! Wake up you damn troublemaker!"

I shook Aqua angrily.

"Ahhh, what is it?!" She yelled just as angrily.

"Come out and fix the mess you made!"

"What mess, I told you—"

I dragged her out of the tent.

"Hey, stop it, you're gonna tear…" Aqua went quiet as she looked around.

I narrowed my eyes on her. In response, she sharply looked away and began "whistling", sweat quickly building on her face.

"T-This isn't my fault!" She whined.

"Whose fault would it be, if not yours?!"

"It-It's fine, I'll just get rid of the barriers"—she did so—"and—"

The undead began shuffling up the hill.

"WAAAAHHH!" we all shouted in panic.

"Do something, you idiot!" I yelled, taking shelter behind Aqua.

"D-Don't hide behind me while saying that!"

"It's fine, I got this, guys!" Megumin yelled. "Time for my new spell! BOREAL EXPLOOOOSSION!"

The powerful magic attack instantly cleared the entire front of the hill of its invaders, however, more continued closing in on us unabated.

"Aqua!" I yelled.

"I got it!" she retorted. "SACRED TURN UNDEAD!"

_**-Sometime later; sitting around the campfire…**_

Until recently, I began wondering why I didn't like going out on quests with these girls; I was quickly reminded of the reason, they were utterly hopeless. Even with my instruction, I could barely focus their strengths and no matter what, they always seemed to end up causing trouble for me.

"I should get another slice of bacon," Aqua said resolutely, "I killed most of the undead."

"You caused them," I said with mounting exasperation. I placed the extra on Megumin's plate.

"Kazuma, where's mine?" Darkness asked.

"Huh, you didn't do anything; you don't get any."

Darkness stared off despondently.

I sighed. _"I wanna go home already."_

After the meal, we packed everything up and continued on. Some hours later into our journey, we came upon another event; a wagon by the roadside.

Aqua spoke. "Hey, Kazuma—"

"Yeah, I see it."

"Should we help them?" Megumin questioned.

My gamer instinct was telling me this was likely a trap. In certain games, bandits would often lie in wait for unsuspecting travelers using methods like this; they preyed on people's good nature to trick them into an ambush.

"Ehhh, I don't know."

"Kazuma," Darkness said with a concerned tone.

"I'm getting a feeling this is a trap."

"A trap?" Megumin restated.

"Remember what Claire said, it isn't unusual for bandits to set up along these roads; this could be one such occasion."

"W-We should at least ask them if they're ok," Darkness suggested.

I sighed. "Fine—but stay alert."

"Oiii, oji-san, you ok?" I called out as we approached the collapsed wagon.

The man looked up. "Oh, travelers, thank goodness; I was wondering when someone would pass by."

"Are you ok?" Darkness asked.

"Ah, um, well yes. It's the wagon—the wheel to be exact, it broke."

I looked down at the exposed axel; it was indeed broken.

"How long have you been out here?" I asked, looking around cautiously.

"It's been maybe half a day."

"Don't you have a spare wheel?" Megumin asked.

"I do, but I don't have any tools that can help lift the wagon; if you guys can help lift it, I can fit it on."

"Hey, Kazuma"—Megumin turned to me—"can't you repair the wagon wheel?"

"Why would—_wait, she makes a good point; perhaps I __**can**_…maybe."

The man smiled in surprise. "Oh, are you a smith?"

"Well, I dabble a bit; let me take a look at the wheel."

The man led me over to the broken wheel laying by the roadside; I examined it.

"_Broken spokes and shattered rim…probably rode over a large rock or hole._ Hmm, nothing I can really do; it's too damaged for me to fix without specialty equipment."

"There's still the spare though," the man reiterated.

"Alright, we'll help you lift the wagon."

We returned to the others.

"So?" Megumin said.

"Can't fix it," I replied. "We'll help lift the wagon though."

Darkness smiled.

As suggested, we lifted the wagon while the man replaced the wheel. After fitting and securing it in place, we let go. All of us breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hand over everything!" Suddenly, we were surrounded by a group of bandits.

"_Of course," _I thought. I looked over at the man we just helped, expecting him to be in on this ambush; however, he was just as shocked as the others.

"K-Kazuma, look, bandits," Darkness said with an excited look on her face.

As we held our hands up, Megumin leaned over to me and whispered. "Don't worry, Kazuma, I got this."

"You got this?" I quickly said in a loud whisper; I couldn't trust Megumin to **not** end this with an Explosion. "W-Wait, Megumin—" But it was too late, Megumin stepped forward and flicked her mantle proudly.

"Do you all know who you're robbing?!" She yelled.

They looked amongst themselves and then back at Megumin; the one who initiated the ambush spoke. "Who the hell cares, now shut up and—"

"I am Megumin, the Crimson Annihilator, Master of Explosions, and Wife of the Demon King Slayer, Satou Kazuma; the man who stands before you!"

One of the other bandits spoke. "Wait, did she just say, Demon King Slayer?"

"That's right!" Megumin confirmed. She continued. "And this here"—she said, pointing her staff at Darkness—"is Dustiness Ford Lalatina, Shield of the Royal Line!"

"Dustiness?" another bandit whispered.

"House Dustiness?!" the owner of the wagon said in surprise.

The bandits began to look as if they were losing their will to carry on.

"W-Wait!" Darkness yelled. "I'm a noble, if you were to capture me, you could ransom me off for a large sum; it'd probably take a while and I'd be at your mercy while—"

I covered her mouth, but the Darkness' intended effect already took hold; the bandits began to regain their resolve.

"What the hell are you thinking, you idiot?!" I whispered loudly. I could feel Darkness' heavy pants against the palm of my hand.

Noticing the turning tide, Megumin quickly continued her act. "Fools!" she shouted. "Do you really want the wrath of Axis Cult to fall upon you?!"

"Wait," another bandit said worriedly, "Axis Cult?"

"This is the head of the Axis Cult, Aqua!"

Aqua slightly surprised by her introduction looked around in bewilderment.

"That's you, dummy," I whispered harshly.

Aqua quickly lowered her arms and smiled pompously. "That's right, you lowly bandits; I'm Aqua, the Goddess of the Axis Order—"

"Did she just call herself a goddess?"

"—If you prostrate yourselves before me—"

"She's crazy."

Another bandit spoke. "Yeah, all of the Axis Cult are weirdos."

Yet another one said, "Hey boss, I don't wanna mess with the Axis Cult."

"Yeah," another bandit agreed.

"Remember, that one nun we took," another recounted.

Finally, the leader nodded. "Ugh, don't remind me; let's get out here before she starts stuffing us with recruitment forms."

As quickly as the bandits appeared, they were gone.

The oji-san we helped let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you; if you all weren't here, I'm afraid of what would've happened. And to think that the Lady Dustiness would so readily ransom herself off to spare us."

"Ahaha, don't mention it_, please don't…"_ I replied.

"Listen, since you guys helped me, let me return the favor; where are you headed, I'd be more than happy to give you a ride."

"Well, should be a spot about a day's hike from here."

"Hmm, so a couple hours ride then; hop on in."

"Ah, thanks, Oji-san."

We climbed in. Me and Megumin smiled proudly at the turn of events, but Darkness and Aqua stared at the ground dejectedly.

"They called me…crazy," Aqua murmured.

"Almost…" Darkness said sadly.

After riding along for some time, I pulled out the quest log and map to verify our location.

"Oi, Oji-san, you can let us off here."

As the wagon came to a stop, we climbed off.

"Thanks," I said, giving a short nod to the man.

"Ah, please, if anything, I should be thanking **you**; good luck on your quest."

I nodded once more, and the wagon pulled off.

"Now," I said, looking down at the map once more, where could this—"

"Kazuma, look," Megumin said, pointing at some tracks.

"Wagon tracks," Darkness said, crouching down to look at them. "Looks like they might've pulled the convoy supplies off somewhere in this direction."

Following the trail, we soon found ourselves approaching a large mound.

"Looks, like trail leads around this hill," Darkness informed.

"Alright," I said, "everyone, stay alert." I cast Lurk on us.

We made our way around.

"This is definitely it," I said, holding my arm out to stop everyone.

"More bandits?!" Darkness said happily.

"Oi, keep it down!"

Indeed, in front us were several bandits, stripping down imperial knights of their armor and weapons. Several canvas cloths lay sprawled out on the ground, bodies lying motionless on them.

"Ugh, there's so many of 'em," one of the bandits complained to another; they hauled one of the canvas rolls over to a wagon almost overflowing with others.

"Yeah, but this should be about it; not a bad haul either. I'd say we hit the jackpot with this stuff. One, two, three!"

They dumped the roll onto the wagon and sighed, dusting their hands off.

"Yup, the Goddess Eris must be really looking out for us."

The bandits laughed.

"What do you think; maybe we should make a permanent outfit with that guy, Wulf."

"Eh, I'm not really against the idea, but you know how the others feel about guys like him."

"Huh, about what?"

"Don't tell me you don't know; the guy's half Lycan."

"Aw shit"—the bandit chuckled—"no wonder he had us haul in the silver on a different cart."

"_Lycan, like a werewolf? Explains a couple of things if it's true."_

I felt a hand grip my shoulder tightly; looking over, I could see it was Aqua. Tears dotted the corner of her eyes despite a furious expression her face.

"Oi…Aqua, you—"

"It's unforgivable," she said, her eyes narrowing, her grip tightening. Before it became unbearable, she let go. "We gotta make 'em pay, Kazuma."

"Huh, are you—"

"Aqua's right, Kazuma," Megumin said; she too harbored a look of anger.

"Scum," Darkness remarked. I expected her to be smitten by the thoughts of being abused by the bandits, but it seems like Darkness also had a line she drew.

The three of them stood up, ready to assault the bandits; I quickly pulled them down.

"Oi, calm down, you guys; there's a bunch of them and only four of us. Remember what we're here for—"

"But, Kazuma—"

"I'm not saying we're gonna let 'em get away with this, but we have to complete what we came here for in the first place."

Though I didn't really show it like the others, I too felt contempt for what was happening here. It was sort of obvious things like this happened, but to see it before your very eyes evoked a different response.

"Look," I said, pointing at a dungeon-like entrance. "That must be where they're hauling everything off."

With some effort, we slowly slipped by the group of bandits and entered the into what appeared to be a dungeon.

"A dungeon?" Darkness queried, looking around as she did.

"Must be using it as a base or something," I answered.

I looked over my shoulder. Aqua was quiet, but she still had an angry look on her face. Megumin was looking around cautiously.

"You guys stay close to me and Aqua," I instructed.

As we continued deeper into the dungeon, the surrounding architecture changed. The walls and ceiling were no longer were covered in man-made structures, but natural ones; we were now walking through what appeared to be a cave.

"Listen," Megumin said, "you guys hear that?"

The sound of raucous behavior echoed from farther ahead.

"More bandits," I said, using Farsight to confirm my suspicions.

"Any way around?" Darkness asked as she crouched beside me.

I shook my head.

"Good," Megumin remarked. "now we can—"

"We can try to move around the backside of the room," I interjected. "There seems to be some space behind those carts."

I heard Megumin suck her teeth in disappointment. We edged into the room and began to slowly crawl behind the carts full of spoils.

"Ahh, this is great," one of the bandits said, taking a swig of what I could only imagine was some sort of alcohol.

"Umu," another agreed. "But you know what we're missing; girls, women!" He yelled excitedly.

The men all yelled in agreement.

Another bandit spoke. "Shit, too bad there weren't any lady knights in that group—"

Yet another interrupted. "Or any in the merchant's group."

"Bunch of guys," another bandit grumbled disappointingly.

Suddenly, Darkness stopped in front of me.

"Oi, Darkness, what's wrong?" I peered in front and could see her clasping her mouth shut, her eyes quivering between disgust and excitement, heavy breaths forced through her nostrils. _"This girl is hopeless…"_

"K-Kazuma, can you hear them; they're speaking about doing unspeakable acts to women," She said through heavy pants.

"Darkness," I whispered harshly, "this isn't the time—"

"I-I know, but I—"

Suddenly, Aqua stood up.

"Oi, what are you doing?!"

She walked up behind the group of bandits and stood silently.

"Oh—Oi, Gavin, look!" one of the bandits said, pointing at Aqua.

The named man turned around to see our goddess staring stoically at them. "Oh ho, ask and you shall receive," he said, smiling excitedly. "Oi, pretty lady, you here to—"

"GOD BLOW!"

Aqua's fist smashed into the man, Gavin's face, sending him spiraling into the other bandit who spoke earlier. Everyone present, including us, stared in shock.

"GOD REQUIEM!" Aqua yelled, uppercutting another bandit.

Snapping out of their trance, one of the men yelled, "Get her!". Aqua took out a couple more before she was overwhelmed.

"Tch—dammit, come on, you two," I said, springing from behind the cart. "You guys distract them," I said, casting Lurk on myself and running around the group.

"Hey!" I could hear Megumin yell.

They turned their attention towards Darkness and Megumin while the majority continued to struggle pinning Aqua down.

"There's more?" one of the guys said.

"Where the hell they'd come from?!"

"What the hell are the guys in the front—"

The man instantly collapsed as I finished draining him. The bandit directly in front of him, turned around and caught my palm on his face; a second later he too, collapsed. Within seconds, half the group was incapacitated; they caught on to me, however.

"Don't let him grab you!" one of them shouted.

As they spread out, two of the brawnier men, held onto Aqua. Darkness pressed into the melee, while Megumin skirted the edges, striking some of the distracted outlaws with her staff.

"Take this!" I yelled, using my blinding combo against the men holding Aqua.

They let go and instinctively rubbed at their eyes. Aqua whipped around and punched one out cold while I drained the other one.

"Kazuma!" Darkness yelled as she punched one of the men on the ground. "One's getting away!"

"I got him!" Megumin said, running forward. "EXPLO—"

"No, you idiot!" I said, grabbing her arm in alarm. "We're in a cave! Don't worry, I'll get him."

I pulled out my bow and took a deep breath.

"SNIPE!"

The arrow whizzed through the air and impaled itself through the bandit's knee; I winced instinctively. The man collapsed on ground, rolling around in agony. I walked up and used Drain Touch, silencing his echoing cries.

Letting out a breath of relief, I turned to Aqua and slapped the back of her head.

"Ow, Kazuma, what was that—"

"You idiot, what the hell were you thinking?! That could've gone so much worse!"

"We did pretty good though," Megumin said proudly, a prideful smirk on her face.

"That's not the point; can you guys stop making things more difficult than they already are?!"

"Kazuma," Darkness said; she was peering into the carts. "The Coronatite isn't here."

"But this must be part of the ore shipment, right?" I said as I walked over.

"Umu." She affirmed with a nod.

"I can sense a faint concentration of magic farther ahead," Megumin informed.

"Must be where the Coronatite is then," I said. "Come on."

We ran ahead. Eventually, we came to a narrow corridor. Along one side, were what appeared to be prison cells; they were empty. On the other side, all the way at the end, was a single room.

"_That's gotta be it."_

"The magic source is coming from that room," Megumin said, confirming my assumption.

As we slowly opened the door and walked in, we could see the Coronatite floating on a pedestal in the far end of the cavernous room. A small desk with various tools, writing utensils, scrolls, and reams of paper sat against the wall.

"This must be the bandit leader's room," Darkness said.

"Those guys outside mentioned Wulf though, maybe he's the one running the show," I said.

"He could just be a mercenary," Megumin remarked. "A temporary hire."

I walked over to the desk and looked at the scattered papers. Taking a second to read over some of them, it became clear to me that Wulf wasn't just a mere mercenary.

"Guys," I said, placing the paper back down, "we need to get the Coronatite and get out of here."

"What do the papers say?" Megumin asked.

A deep and reverberating voice answered. "It says to get rid of annoying pests like yourselves." It was Wulf. "Well, well," he said as we all turned his way, "didn't think I'd be seeing you lot so soon."

"Are you the one responsible for this?" Darkness questioned.

He shrugged, smirking as he did. "Not like it matters; I'm gonna finish what I started. Can't have some pesky gnats buzzing around places they have no reason being."

"You work for the Demon King of the North, don't you?" I announced.

His smirk slowly transitioned into a scowl. "Ah, so you read **that** paper; now I'm really gonna have to get rid of you."

"Kind of your own fault for leaving them out in the open."

**Part 4**

The room went quiet, only the low hum of the Coronatite could be heard. Suddenly, Wulf lunged forward letting out a beastly growl; Darkness leapt in front of him. For a second they wrestled against each other, however, as strong as Darkness was, she was no match for someone with beast blood; he picked her up and smashed her into the ground. At this point, what little armor Darkness had previously, was gone; the only thing left was her black undergarment which was already fraying from the constant abuse.

"Stay there!" He yelled, stomping Darkness' face further into the rocky floor.

"Darkness!" we yelled.

Aqua quickly cast Heal, but Wulf threw a scroll into the air. The next instant, a large magic circle opened beneath us.

"No more magic," he snarled. "…no escape."

I gulped as we slowly started to back away from the advancing Lycan.

"Arggh!" Wulf yelled as Darkness slammed into him from behind. Her own battle cry melded with his shocked response as she continued past me, shoving the towering man into Coronatite pedestal.

He let out a beastly howl as the burning ore seared into him. Wulf growled, his eyes becoming more feral as he grabbed Darkness and kneed her in the stomach. She doubled over and the next instance their positions were reversed, with Darkness being pressed into the Coronatite and Wulf grasping her neck tightly, pressing her back mercilessly into the flaming core.

"SNIPE!"

But Wulf instantly whipped around and grasped the arrow out of the air, snapping it in two. He stared at me, snarling ferally, his eyes instilling me with me fear, causing me to be rooted in place. As he was about to advance on me, Darkness punched him, grabbing his attention once more.

"BREAK!" He roared.

He grabbed Darkness by the head once more and swung her around; when he let go, she was flung into the wall behind the Coronatite with such intensity, that it simply crumpled, tossing her into the previous room. Wulf quickly leapt through the hole. As we were about to follow, the ceiling collapsed, caving it in.

"Dammit!" I cursed. "Darkness, hold on, we're coming!"

"Humph, what the hell," the beast-man, Wulf, said. "I can't believe you're still alive. At this point you can't even be called human."

I knelt on one knee, panting. With the amount of pain running through my body, I could tell I was in shambles. My left arm dangled freely; it was broken. I felt a sharp pain with every breath, probably broke a few ribs. My back felt like it was on fire; probably because it was. I could smell blood in my nose, taste it in my mouth, see it in my eyes. All the damage…the pain…but it felt…good; I felt numbingly good. I couldn't help but smile despite it all.

"Say," he said, staring at me, "I've never fought against a female like you; someone who could take my hits like they were nothing. What do you say, why don't you become my mate?"

I closed my eyes and chuckled weakly. "Sorry," I replied, "I'm taken."

"Hmm, a shame; probably a guy who doesn't know what he has. Probably just a weak, cowardly, and unreliable guy."

I smiled, pressing my arm into my knee and struggling to my feet. "…you're wrong," I said. "He's the only man who can make me feel happy…normal…and you're nothing compared to him."

"Darkness!" Kazuma yelled as he and the others rounded the corner.

"Well then, let's continue," I said, bringing up my guard.

"No, now I'm gonna break you till there's nothing left but powdered bones."

I couldn't help but shudder excitedly at the thought.

As I stared at Darkness putting up a valiant defense, I began to think. _"Shit, what can I do? Normal arrows won't work against him and if I get in close, I'll be killed. Think, Kazuma, think…"_

Suddenly, I looked at the ore carts. I ran over, Aqua and Megumin followed.

"Kazuma," Aqua said, "I still can't cast Heal."

I kept foraging through the carts.

"Hey, Kazuma," Megumin said desperately, "did you hear, Aqua can't—"

"Found it," I said, pulling out a piece of ore. "Tinder…..._dammit…the heat isn't enough—I need"_—my eyes caught a glowing ore just meters away from me—"…Coronatite."

I ran over to it.

"Kazuma, what are you doing?" Aqua said anxiously.

I pressed the tip of the arrow to the melting ore; a metallic sheen rose to the surface.

"Silver," I said, holding up the arrow tip to my face. "Here," I said, tossing down more of my arrows. "Do the same to those." I turned towards Wulf and Darkness and raised my bow. "SNIPE!"

Probably because of carelessness or being too focused on the fight, Wulf didn't try to dodge or block the incoming arrow; it hit him in the arm.

He glanced over at the arrow and then at me. "What an annoying"—He recoiled in pain and then staggered back holding his arm—"ARRRGHHH! YOU BASTARD!"

I let off another arrow; this one burying itself into his leg.

"Silver," he said through pained breaths. He quickly grabbed Darkness, using her as a shield and then charged at us.

"No, you don't!" Darkness yelled; she dug her feet into the ground causing Wulf to come to a complete stop.

They struggled against each other as he tried to lift Darkness off the ground.

"Aqua," I said, quickly turning to her. "Can you use magic now?"

She cast Heal on Darkness and nodded.

"Aqua, buff her with everything you got!"

She nodded and did so.

Empowered by the divine magic, Darkness began to push Wulf back. Even injured by the arrows and going up against a buffed-up Darkness, Wulf still made her work for every step.

"You're nothing!" He growled.

Wulf broke free of her grasp and unleashed a flurry of punches so fast and furious that all of us stood stunned by the quick reversal of the situation. As Darkness, staggered backwards, she managed to deflect one of his punches and throw him slightly off balance.

"ABSOLUTION!" She yelled almost as a dying breath.

The next instant, she stepped forward and countered with her own flurry of blows. At first the punches came in quickly, but as every second went by, they sped up, faster and faster, until Darkness' arms were mere blurs. She yelled, pressing her attack forward. Farther and farther they got, Darkness' attacks pushing the hulking man backwards. Finally, he staggered back on one knee, panting. Darkness stopped.

"Darkness," I yelled, "what are you doing, finish him!"

"Heh, aren't you gonna do it?" Wulf said through labored breaths.

I stared at him; my fist raised.

"It's him, isn't it?"

"…"

He smiled, looking down. "Fuckin' hell…what an embarrassment; beaten by a girl and a scrawny boy. I've really lost my edge."

"…I…actually had a lot of fun…thanks."

He looked up surprised. "Fun—"

My fist slammed into his face and I could feel the bones in my hand and arms shake from the impact. The man named, Wulf, went down. I swallowed deeply and then sighed, throwing my head back in relief. A moment later, I felt pain in every part of my body; I felt my bones crunch and shatter, my muscles tear, and blood fill my mouth. So much pain…so much pleasure…agonizing pleasure. My vision went black.

When I came to, I was lying in the back of a wagon.

"Hey, Kazuma," Megumin said, "she's awake."

"Ah, welcome back."

"What, what happened?" I asked, sitting up in confusion.

"Well, once you went down, Aqua healed you but you were still out cold. You were kinda heavy, so I threw you in the back of one of the ore carts and hauled you around like that. Then it turned out that some of the patrol was still alive; they were just knocked out."

"What about the bandits outside?"

"Well when we came out with Wulf, they instantly lost their will to fight. After Aqua healed the surviving patrol members, they went off to get some help; luckily, some merchants were coming down from Elroad."

"What about…the others…the ones that didn't make it?"

Kazuma and the others looked down dejectedly.

"Aqua gave them their rites and we buried them. Turns out you can't resurrect people who've been dead for a while."

I sighed disappointingly.

Kazuma continued. "Mission's done; I grabbed the Coronatite, the papers, and we even managed to bring the ore along with this caravan."

"And Wulf?"

"Bound in the back; a couple of the knights wanted to watch over him personally." Kazuma gave a weak smirk. "All in all, you guys did pretty well."

Looking away from Darkness and out the window, I thought about the information I read in Wulf's notes and letters, their implications; Wulf was one of the Demon King's Generals, the Demon King of the North. Having captured him it would only be a matter of time before the Demon King knew what happened. I sighed knowing full well somewhere in the future I'd have to confront this Demon King.

"We're back!" Megumin said, sitting up and staring out my window; the Capital came into view.

It was already evening by the time we disembarked. The caravan was originally heading towards the marketplace, so it worked out for us. When we arrived at the gates, one of the missing patrol men notified the guards about the recent events so by the time we arrived, Claire was already waiting for us with a contingent of knights.

"Claire," Darkness said as we got off.

"Lalatina, I was told you distinguished yourself; it was said you were responsible for the capture for 'The Silver'."

"The Silver?"

"Oh, sorry, I guess you didn't know; the man you captured, Wulf Sylban, he's known by the moniker, 'The Silver'. And there he is."

Several of the patrol men held Wulf as they brought him over; even bound in mithril cables, he still appeared strong enough to rip through it with ease. He glanced over at me and then, Darkness, but said nothing.

"Kazuma-dono, make sure you take the Coronatite over to Master Holt immediately; I'll personally be escorting this wretch to the dungeons."

I nodded and watched as Claire and the knights hauled Wulf off. Most of the patrol men followed along with the many bandits we captured; one of them, presumably the leader, came over.

"I just wanna thank you guys again for everything—especially you, Aqua-sama; I never thought an Axis priest could be so…caring."

I expected Aqua to shoot back a retort, but she remained quiet with a sorrowful look on her face.

"Don't worry about it," I said, answering in her place.

"Umu, again, thanks." Then the patrolman walked off towards the group.

"Oi," I said, turning to Aqua; I place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't take it too hard; you did everything you could."

She nodded, but her expression didn't change. As annoying as she could be, I didn't like seeing Aqua like this.

"Let's get this stuff back to Holt's so we can head home."

Darkness and Megumin nodded, and then we went on our way. As we walked into the shop, the receptionist known as "Gren" came over to greet us.

"Hel—"

She froze as our eyes met.

"You," I said. "It's you, you were the one speaking to Wulf."

She stepped back. "I-I don't—I think you're mistaken," She said nervously, her eyes darting away from mine.

"No, I'm sure of it."

Megumin and Darkness fanned out to surround her.

"P-Please, have mercy; I-I didn't want to do it—I had no choice!"

"He had your sister, right?"

She looked up, desperation filled her eyes, but there was glimmer of hope. "Y-Yes, he has Ferris; I can't—" She collapsed, covering her face and sobbing heavily.

Darkness looked over at me. "Kazuma, even if what she's saying is true, if she's been feeding intel to an enemy, we can't just overlook it."

"I know." I walked over the sobbing girl. "Listen, we can help you get your sister back, but you're gonna have to tell us everything you told Wulf."

She looked up once more, the same desperation in her eyes and now, her voice. "I-I can't—he'll kill—"

"He can't; we captured him; he's on his way to a dungeon cell as we speak."

She looked over at Darkness and Megumin for confirmation; they nodded silently. She threw her head back in relief and smiled faintly. "Thank goodness." She got up, sniffling as she did. "I'll tell you everything I know."

_**-Sometime later…**_

"So, he wanted intel on the royal family?" I queried.

Gren nodded.

"Why?" Darkness interjected sternly.

"I-I don't know; he never discussed with me the why's. He only told me what he wanted and threatened to hurt Ferris if I didn't get it."

Darkness frowned.

"It should be obvious why he wanted intel on Iris and her family," Megumin remarked. "If Wulf works for the Demon King of the North, then it's probably because—"

"He intends to attack Belzerg at some point," I finished, sighing immediately after. "Trouble always finds me, even if I don't look for it…"

The shop door opened and in came Claire.

"Kazuma-dono."

"Claire," Darkness said, "what are you doing here; weren't you with Wulf?"

She knit her brow lightly. "I've finished securing him. I came to see the progress with the Coronatite."

I interrupted. "Ah, well…something came up," I said, glancing over at Gren.

"What?"

I sighed once more; I needed to tell Claire, but I felt sort of bad. I knew that Gren's punishment could be severe—even if we asked for leniency on her behalf. However, if I didn't say anything it's likely that Iris and the royal family could be put in danger. Unfortunately for Gren, I had to tell; had it been anyone else at risk, I may have turned a blind eye to it.

"Well, it turns out—"

"I was leaking information to an enemy!" Gren shouted, she closed her eyes in remorse.

Claire stared at her and then, us. "This is…serious," She said, her face growing grim.

I quickly intervened. "Claire, I should probably point out that she did it for her sister; Wulf threatened to hurt her."

"Even so, Kazuma-dono, that's treason; I'm sure you know what the penalty usually is."

"Symphonia-sama, I won't ask you to forgive me, but please…please, I just ask that you save my sister; she's an innocent in all this."

Claire closed her eyes and sighed before opening them once more. "I'll see what I can do. Until then, Gren Hallowitz, you're under arrest for the crime of subversion against the state, pending treason."

Gren looked down regretfully. "Symphonia-sama, may I ask one for one more selfish request?"

"…speak."

"May I…say goodbye to Holt-sama?"

"No…you can't be alone with someone as important as him."

"I can go with her," I interjected. Claire looked at me, all traces of understanding or leniency was gone; she looked as rigid the person I met over a year ago. "I still have to give Master Holt the Coronatite; might as well bring her along…after all, it'll just be one last time."

"No, my decision—"

"Then I'll go along with him as well," Darkness added.

"So will I," Megumin remarked.

We half expected Aqua to speak up, but she was still quiet, her somber expression still present.

Claire relented. "Fine. I'll be waiting up here; make it quick."

Every time we came down here, Gren used to be the one leading, this time, however, I was. As we made it past the large forge, we entered Holt's workshop; the Royal Smith was hammering away at another item, as he always seemed to be.

"You never seem to take a break," I said.

He stopped and turned around with a smile. "You're back, and I assume with the Coronatite no less."

"You say it like you weren't expecting it."

He laughed.

"Actually…your attendant has some…news." I made way for her to move past.

"Oh? What is it, Gren?" he said with an innocent smile.

She began to cry. "Holt-sama…"

Holt's expression instantly changed; he stared at her worriedly, then at me. "What, what happened?" He looked back at Gren. "What's wrong?"

The young attendant was sobbing. As she approached him, she collapsed to her knees and covered her face in shame. "Holt-sama…I'm…I'm so sorry, I…"

"Gren," he said, staring at her, "it's alright, you can confide in me; tell me what's wrong."

This remark only seemed to make things worse as Gren was now hunched over wailing in grief.

"I, I don't understand…Kazuma-dono, do you know—"

"She's…been arrested for…treason."

Holt seemed shocked, but only mildly so. "I…see."

The revelation caused the weeping girl to bawl loudly and unceasingly.

"Gren," he said, walking over to her. He knelt down.

Slowly, she lifted her head; she sniveled desperately, her eyes quivering as tears covered her face. "I'm so…sorry."

He smiled faintly. "…I know you are, and I know you had your reason for doing it; don't worry, even if it's true, you were still a loyal and diligent attendant. I think no less of you, Gren."

As if it were even possible, she wept harder; the sounds of her cries were almost louder than the work in the forge.

He slowly got up and sighed. "Kazuma-dono, forgive me, but…can you leave the Coronatite. I uh…need to-"

"I got it." I dropped off the ore and tapped Gren on the shoulder.

She staggered to her feet, covering her face; her cries were now mostly quiet sobs. As we made it back up top, Claire looked at Gren and then at me.

"Everything done?" She said.

I nodded.

"I'll make sure you get your reward, Kazuma-dono; thanks again." She turned towards Gren. "Come," She said, grabbing her by the arm. I could just barely catch Claire's face soften with sadness as she exited.

"Kazuma," Darkness said sorrowfully, "I feel…sorry for her."

"Yeah, Darkness…me too…let's go home."

We headed to the Teleport Station and made it back to Axel. Despite having completed a difficult quest in spectacular fashion, all of us felt defeated. As we entered the mansion, we were greeted by Irene.

"Welcome home," she said. "Is there anything I can prepare for you all?"

"No," I replied as I headed up to my room.

Megumin and Aqua did the same. I could hear Darkness speaking with the maid just before I entered; I assumed it was probably our accounts of what happened.

Several hours passed as I laid in bed, my eyes were closed, but my thoughts weren't of sleep.

"_If I didn't say anything…if I just entered the shop and…maybe that girl would've…no, Kazuma, it's still too soon to say anything. It's not your fault…she's the one who chose to break the law…even if it was for her little sister."_

I threw my pillow over my head. That girl could be executed because of what I chose to do, her sister could be missing her onee-chan because of me. I shook my head, throwing my pillow off to the side.

"_I need to get my mind off this," _I thought.

I got up and left my room. The mansion was dark and quiet, but as I got closer to the living room, I saw another troubled soul sitting in front of the fireplace; she was slowly sipping wine.

"Aqua?" I said. "What are you doing here?"

She gave me a cursory glance, took another sip, and then looked down sadly. "I feel so sad, Kazuma." Those were the first words I heard her say since we finished the quest and it resonated with me; I felt her sadness.

I took a seat next to her. "Why are you sad? I know that wasn't your first time seeing people die."

"We could've…saved them; if only we got there sooner, if I didn't…" She looked away. "I"—She took a swig of wine and swallowed deeply—"I keep thinking…it's my fault they're dead."

"_I see…" _

Aqua was blaming herself; this was serious.

"Lots of things happened; you're…not at fault…this time."

Both of us went quiet; we stared at the flames in the fireplace.

I heard Aqua take another sip. "Say, Kazuma…what good is a goddess who can't save people?"

This was **really** serious…

"You saved plenty of people, Aqua; you saved **me** a bunch of times." I sighed. "You can't save everyone…even **I** know that."

Aqua put her glass down. She grabbed the bottle and took a couple of gulps. "Kazuma."

"Hmm?"

"We should save that girl and her little sister." She peered out at me from the corner of her eye.

I sighed once more. "I know." I got up. "Hey, Aqua…"

She looked up at me.

"You did good today."

She smiled weakly. Aqua took another couple of drinks from the bottle. "You're just saying that cause I'm sad, Kazuma."

"Well"—I chuckled—"you did **mostly **good today…don't stay up too late." I said as I walked back to my room.

When I returned, I quickly grabbed my satchel and poured the rolls of papers and notes on to the table; the notes and papers I got from the cave. Casting Tinder into the nearby lantern, I sat down and began reading them under its dim glow.

_**-Next Morning**_

By morning, I was already awake; I slept little, but felt no drowsiness. My mind was flooded by the information I read just hours earlier. I got dressed and hurried downstairs.

"Kazuma," Megumin called out; she ran over to me. "wanna go with me—"

"I can't," I interrupted. "I'm headed to the capital."

She froze for a moment and then hurried over to my side once more. "What's wrong; why are you going to the capital again? Everyone's acting so strangely since yesterday."

I stopped and looked over at her. "You don't feel anything for what happened yesterday?"

Megumin looked slightly surprised. "I, I mean…it's sad, but…she **did** commit treason…right?"

I began walking once more; Megumin quickly followed. "I need to turn these papers in," I revealed.

"Papers?"

"Yeah, the ones Wulf had back in the cave."

"What'd they say?"

"Not a lot, but the stuff that **was **said, is troubling to say the least."

"Is the other Demon King really planning an invasion?"

"I don't know. It just seems like some plans are underway; they wanted the Coronatite for something." I sighed deeply.

There were others involved with this plan; from the letter I could only discern one other person, "G".

We took the Teleport station back to the capital. When we arrived, I quickly led us to the palace.

"I need to speak with Claire," I said to the guards posted at the front gate.

They looked at each other and then back at me. "Lady Symphonia?" one of them queried.

"Uh, yeah—tell her it's really important."

He nodded and left.

After a couple of minutes of waiting, Claire returned with the guard.

"I'm surprised to see you here so early, Kazuma-dono, what—"

"We need to talk"—I looked at the guards and then back at her—"privately."

Claire's eyes narrowed in interest. "Come then." She waved me in.

Megumin and I entered the palace. We made our way through the familiar corridors until we arrived at a room I've only seen once before; it was Claire's.

"First things first," I said as we entered. "What of the shop attendant?"

"Hallowitz?" She said, looking at me with slight surprise.

I gave a short nod.

Claire sighed and took a seat behind a large wooden desk. "…she's being held while we gather more information; she's already confessed to the crime, but she's also been quite cooperative when it comes to the information she leaked."

"So…"

"As of yet, there's been no word on her punishment." She cleared her throat. "That's not why you're here though, is it?"

I withdrew the papers from my bag and spread them out in the desk's surface.

"What is this?" She said, looking up at me.

"You might wanna read 'em."

**Part 5**

Claire looked at me dubiously, but then turned her attention to the notes on her desk. A couple minutes passed as she read through them, her expression becoming more and more concerned as she did.

"Dammit," she swore softly. "After we've worked so hard to obtain peace."

"_You mean after __**I**__ worked so hard…"_

Claire shifted her attention to me and sighed; she appeared visibly bothered by what she was about to say. "Kazuma-dono, I think it's time you've met someone else from the royal court."

"Someone…else?"

"Yes. The matters presented here are beyond my scope. If another Demon King is setting his sights on the Kingdom, then this must be brought to the attention of the Royal Council."

"Royal Council?"

"Did you believe the Kingdom was ran only by the royal family?"

"I mean…yeah."

She scoffed. "The kingdom is much too big a place for it to be completely ran by three people. Strictly speaking, the royal family has final say on all matters, but the council helps gather problems and news around the kingdom to bring to their attention."

"I see."

Politics was just as complicated here as it was in my world.

"Come, you both. This man is quite busy and so am I; Iris-sama will soon need my attention."

We followed Claire. As we exited the palace grounds, Megumin spoke.

"So, Claire-san, who is this person?"

She seemed to tense up slightly upon being asked. "It's best…you'll see."

Me and Megumin looked at each other in mild surprise; such a response from Claire was fairly rare to see.

Eventually we reached the Royal Library.

"The Royal Library?" Megumin questioned as we climbed its steps.

"What are we doing here?" I said.

"This member of the court and council is in charge of intelligence gathering," Claire replied. "The library is basically his domain."

I happened to know someone who could claim the latter, but his looks and attitude couldn't be further than what I'd expect someone holding such a lofty position to be like.

"Is it Bartholomew-san?" Megumin posed.

Claire looked back in astonishment. "Have you met already?"

"Really?" I said. "**He's** the one in charge of intelligence?"

"Don't let his looks deceive you," Claire said; her face was stern. "He's Master of Intelligence for a reason."

Entering the atrium, we could already see the man in questioned standing at the end of the hall, a smile on his face.

"Vincent," Claire said, her brow knit.

"Claire-chan; always a pleasure to see you." He turned to me and Megumin. "Kazuma and Megumin-dono, or should I say, the Satous?"

"If you're out here, then I presume you already know why we're here," Claire interrupted.

He smiled. "I actually have no idea why you're all here; I just came out to the hall so I could admire—"

"Enough. The matter is important; I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

"Ouch, you wound me, Claire-chan, but I suppose it is as you say; come, let's head to my study."

We followed him into the familiar domed setting of the inner sanctum. He offered us seats as he took his own; previously, I stood up seemingly defiant, this time it was Claire.

"Won't you sit, Claire-chan; it pains me to know how much you stand every day."

"Then don't," she replied curtly. "I'm not staying long anyways."

"Right, right, Iris-sama **does** need your attention."

Despite, the statement's benign sentiments, Claire frowned. "I'll leave these with you," she said, tossing the papers onto his desk. She then turned to me. "Kazuma-dono, since you two are acquainted I'll leave the explanations to you. I have some important matters to attend to."

"Uhhh, right."

Claire left quickly. Vincent smiled as I turned to him.

"On to important matters," he said. "Care to bring me up to speed, Kazuma-dono?"

"Eh, sure. I mean…what **don't ** you know?"

He briefly lowered the paper he was currently reading and smiled once more. "Good question, but also tricky when so much passes through your hands."

"I'm surprised," I said. "To think you're the spymaster."

He chuckled. "Don't I look the part?" he replied in a somewhat sarcastic tone. "Best way to go unnoticed is to not draw attention to yourself in the first place, Kazuma-dono. No one would think the librarian also happens to be the one in charge of handling the Kingdom's more…sensitive affairs."

I looked around. The setting and the blindfolded individuals were starting to make sense.

"Can't they hear us?" I said, pointing at the robed servants.

"No, sadly they're blind **and** deaf; a bunch of unfortunates, unfit for normal tasks but perfect for a job of this nature."

Megumin spoke. "How come they never fall?" she asked, staring at them as they worked.

Vincent smiled gently. "They're very careful."

A couple of minutes went by, and then a couple of hours; Megumin lay sleeping on my shoulder as I also began to drift in and out of consciousness.

"Ahem." Vincent coughed loudly, rousing me from drowsiness; he wore a more serious expression, one that seemed alien to me. "Kazuma-dono, I'm starting to understand a bit of what's going on. Let me ask you, how'd you acquire these papers?"

"Oh, uh"—I yawned—"it was during yesterday's quest; the guy we captured, Wulf, it was his."

"Right, 'Wulf the Silver'. Reports have him pegged as a Demon King General; these correspondences pretty much confirm it. The interesting thing is this 'G' who's mentioned; I may know who it is."

"Really?" I was actually pretty surprised.

Even after pouring over the notes myself, I had no idea who it could've been, but then again, I didn't have access to anywhere near the amount of data and info the Spymaster of the kingdom would've.

"Umu, I believe it maybe referring to a key figure named, 'Gunther'; His name has popped up several times in some reports coming from the north. Problem is, we still don't know what's his position to the Demon King or if he's even directly a part of his army."

Vincent continued. "Then there's the problem with the Royal Smith's attendant, Gren Hallowitz; the information she leaked—according to these notes—seems to infer that the Demon King of the North is preparing for an invasion into the Kingdom. This is…quite simply…I don't believe this to be the case."

"Why not?" I asked.

"The Demon King still faces resistance in the north; it'd be foolish of him to turn his attention towards another target while he's still preoccupied."

I rubbed my chin in thought; it made sense, but then I remembered the Coronatite was also part of the plan. "Maybe he was expecting to get the Coronatite back."

"Ah, good point, Kazuma-dono; perhaps plans were made with the Coronatite in mind. By the way, congratulations on the success of your first Royal Provision."

"Uh, thanks. Hey…speaking of the attendant, Gren, she has a little sister, right?"

Vincent leaned back in his chair. "She does, Ferris Hallowitz; the letters also seem to imply she was kidnapped. A good enough motive to commit treason if I ever saw one; the bonds of family are almost unbreakable."

"I know asking to pardon her for such a crime isn't probably something I should ask for—or expect, but…it seems a little unfair to place all the blame on her considering the circumstances."

"I agree, however, it's no small thing she has done; she must be punished, Kazuma-dono."

"Does it have to be execution though?"

He smiled faintly. "No, it doesn't. Crimes like this are often held in presence of the territory lord; in this case, since it was in the capital, that would be a member of the royal family."

It would mean that Iris, the King, or the Prince would be the ones presiding over the trial. If it was Iris, I could, perhaps, see her handing out an easier sentence in light of the girl's situation; however, if it was the King, or especially the Prince, it'd be unlikely she'd get off with anything but a "just" ruling.

Vincent interrupted my thoughts. "That girl had been working with the Master Holt for six years now. He picked her up off the streets after she fled from the Demon King's occupation; she and her sister were both refugees. Holt would sneak out to give them food. He told me that he tried getting them to go to one of the churches for help, but every day he'd find them in the same spot."

"He said that they'd show up in front of the palace gates to stare at the palace. Said, she told him, 'if she could just live in the shadow such magnificence she'd be satisfied'." He shook his head with a smile. "I don't think that smith has it in him to really understand what she meant."

"Why tell me this?" I said.

Vincent shifted slightly in his chair; he appeared to be thinking of a response. "Holt...is probably one of the most loyal servants this kingdom has ever had the pleasure of having; he does a lot and asks for little. That girl gave him some semblance of happiness; to me or you it doesn't really matter—at the end of the day, if she lives or dies, we'll probably forget about it in due time; he won't, I know."

"What can I do about it though?"

"You're in a very unique position, Kazuma-dono; you have at your disposal, things that no other in this kingdom has."

"And what's that?"

"You."

"…"

"Do what you want to do."

"Shouldn't you—I don't know, lecture me on why I shouldn't get involved in this or how my interference in such affairs can be seen as—"

Vincent laughed. "Kazuma-dono, you already know all those things, clearly; I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm loyal to the truth, history, and the crown, in that order. Whatever you choose to do—or not, I'll make sure history knows the truth. How do you be remembered as, Kazuma-dono?"

"…maybe the guy who didn't get dragged into so many problems."

"That path is already long gone, isn't it?" He smiled, and then got up and turned away from me. "Kazuma-dono, **if** you choose to do something, times ticking, the longer you wait, the harder it'll be to achieve a wonderfuloutcome."

"I just want to live a quiet life."

"Those who want peace, prepare for war. Do you understand? Struggle, life is a struggle. Even if you don't wanna do anything but live—**especially** if you don't; you have to fight for it."

I sat quietly for a minute and then sighed. "It's starting to seem like a lot of my choices aren't my own."

"Our choices seldom are, Kazuma-dono."

Getting to my feet, I placed Megumin on my back and went on my way.

Walking out of the library, I headed back towards the palace; I had to speak with Iris.

"Oi, Megumin," I said, readjusting her as I walked.

She stirred slightly, lightly wrapping her arms around me. I sighed. _"This girl…"_

A couple minutes later, I arrived at the palace gates once more and was let in. I made my way to Iris' room. Upon arriving, I knocked, quickly readjusting the now-slipping Megumin. The door opened slightly; Rain peered through the crack.

"Yo," I said with a smirk.

Rain opened the door a bit more, but her body still barred me from entering. Her brows were knit, and she looked at me in a disapproving fashion.

"Kazuma-dono," she whispered harshly, "didn't I tell you to give us forewarning when you're coming."

Iris spoke in the far background. "Who is it, Rain—is it Onii-sama?!" I could hear her quickly running from, presumably, the terrace. Her head poked out from the side of Rain's leg; she smiled enthusiastically.

"Onii-sama! Please, come in, come in," She insisted, pulling the door open as she did.

I walked in and quickly placed Megumin on the nearby couch.

"Onii-sama, did you come to visit?"

"Uhh, well—"

"Yes, Kazuma-dono," Rain interrupted with a frown, "why **did** you come today?"

"I actually have to speak with Iris-chan about something important."

Both of them glanced at each other and then, me. Without a word, Rain stepped outside.

"What's wrong, Onii-sama?"

"Have you been told about the…situation, regarding the shop attendant?"

Iris sat on an ottoman across the couch; I took my seat besides the sleeping Megumin.

"Briefly," She replied; her regal and near-emotionless expression surfaced.

"The girl has a younger sister who's been kidnapped; she was forced to do what she did."

Iris smiled weakly. "Onii-sama wishes to save them?"

"…I just don't think it's fair for her to be punished so harshly for something she had little control over."

"Very well…I suppose you came to ask me for leniency on her behalf?"

"If you could, yeah."

She beamed widely, her childlike demeanor returning instantly. "Umu, if Onii-sama believes she's a person worth protecting then I'll place my faith in his judgement."

I could feel myself blush; Iris-chan was super cute.

She quickly leaned forward and grabbed my hands. "Onii-sama, in exchange for doing this, can you play with me a bit; tell me about what happened in this quest."

I smirked. "Sure, but shouldn't you tell Rain first?"

Iris grinned deviously. "Perhaps a bit later; after all, this is an important conversation, isn't it?" She smiled widely once more.

I shook my head, a smile donned upon my face as well. _"What a devious little princess…"_

_**-Meanwhile…**_

"Lady Dustiness," the guard said, quickly standing to attention and bowing. "What can I do for you?"

"You can relax. I'm here to see the prisoner, Wulf."

"Of course." He stood up, unlocking the door beside him. As he opened it, he said, "Down the stairs, second to last cell."

"Thank you," I replied and began my descent down the narrow spiral staircase; the door closed shut behind me.

After a noticeable amount of time, I made it to the bottom. The area was dimly lit, a rather stark contrast to the top. Several guards stood patrolling the hall, while others stood as sentinels watching the cells, even those with no one in them. Incidentally, the only occupied cell was the one housing the prisoner I came for. I walked over and stood in front, staring at the large man sitting within; he stared carelessly at nothing in particular, his head resting idly in his hand.

"Where is she?" I asked.

He glanced over; his golden eyes bright in the darkness. "So, it's you; what do you want?"

"Where's the girl; the one you held hostage."

He smirked wryly. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"I do; tell me."

He snorted proudly. "Nah, I don't think I will."

I stepped slightly closer.

He looked over at me; I could see his eyes narrow. "What are you gonna do, huh; you wanna go again? Come on, open this cell and this time…I'll break you properly."

"…you really are the type of person to hold an innocent little girl against her life. Such a cowardly way of getting things done. Are you afraid that your own strength might not be enough?"

The beast slowly got to his feet and walked over to the bars. As he placed his hands around them, I could hear them begin to groan. The guard quickly readied his spear, but I placed an arm out to stop him.

"Lady Dustiness—"

I glanced back at the guard in response; he went silent, but still held his spear at a half-ready stance.

The creaking sounds ceased. I looked forward.

"Dustiness," Wulf said. "I see now…you're a noble." He let go of the bars and went back to sitting in the corner of the cell. "Go on, I got nothing to say to you."

"Your end draws near, you know this; agents of the Demon King aren't usually spared from execution. Don't you want to do something right before then; correct your mistakes? Even one of them?"

"…I told you, I have nothing to say to you."

"Why—"

"Save your breath girl; you may not think much of me, but I too have my dignity to preserve. If I'm to die for my crimes, then so be it."

I stared at him for a couple seconds, and then began to walk away.

"If we ever trade blows again"—I stopped—"I'll make sure to break you in every way possible, mind and body alike."

I shuddered excitedly at the thought, but otherwise gave no response. I was to leave empty-handed.

_**-Back at the Palace…**_

"I can't believe you, Kazuma-dono!" Rain said in exasperation. "And Hime-sama, this sort of behavior isn't something you should give way to."

"Ohh, but Kazuma onii-sama was getting to the good part; can't you just—"

"Absolutely not! You tricked me, Hime-sama; it pains me when you do stuff like this."

I intervened. "Aye, it's alright, Rain; no harm done."

"Easy for you to say, Kazuma-dono; every time you do this sort of thing it just makes things harder for us in the future; Iris-sama is becoming increasingly self-indulgent."

"Rain-chan, you've been teaching me lessons almost all day; when Onii-sama visits, the respectful thing for me to do would be to listen to his problems."

"I'd hardly call stories of his mishaps, 'problems'."

"Well," I interjected, "in a way, they sort of, are."

Rain frowned, and then crossed her arms. "Kazuma-dono, clearly, your conversation is done; please allow me to do my job."

I smiled cheekily. "Sure." Then I turned to Iris. "Alright, Iris-chan, your Onii-chan will see ya later, ok?"

"Umu."

I picked up Megumin, who was still sleeping; almost instinctually, she grabbed onto me. _"This girl sleeps so much…hopefully she hasn't fallen ill again._ See ya," I said once again, and then walked out.

As I walked down the corridor, Megumin spoke. "Finally," She said with a hint of drowsiness in her voice.

"Wha—you were awake this whole time?!"

She smirked.

"Oi, I'm gonna drop you."

"Ahh, please don't!" She said, latching on to me tightly.

"Why didn't you wake up or say anything; wanted to spy on me?"

She smiled and pressed her head lovingly on my back. "Nope," she replied. "If I woke up, I wouldn't be able to enjoy **this**; if you're gonna indulge in **your** desires, shouldn't **I**?"

I scoffed. _"This brat."_ I smiled faintly as I readjusted her.

_**-Capital, at the Axis Church orphanage…**_

"Oh, onee-san, you look so beautiful; you look just like the goddess Aqua," one of the children said.

"That's because I **am** the goddess Aqua." Children—especially unfortunates like these—had to be taught from a young age that the Axis Order is benevolent to all…and that I, their goddess, was here to lead them to great pastures. "Hey," I said, crouching down to their level, "I'm looking for a girl; can you guys help me find her?"

"Uhh sure," one of the boys said.

Another one, who looked slightly older than the bunch, responded, "Hey, onee-san, didn't you say were the goddess Aqua, herself? If that's the case, why can't you find her on your own?"

What a little brat; that type of smart aleck remark reminded me of a certain hikkiNEET. "C-Cause, I-I'd like to…I'd like to make sure you're all having fun too!"

The same boy replied. "I don't think looking for a missing kid is supposed to be fun though—"

"Hey, if you keep spouting lines like that an evil Eris Cultist will come and adopt you!"

He looked slightly worried when I mentioned this. "O-Ok, but we need something to go on, right guys?" He looked around at the other kids; they nodded in agreement. "See, onee-san, do you have a picture we can go on?"

Another boy around the same age interrupted. "Yeah, onee-san, is she a cute girl; if she is, can I keep the picture?"

Ah, to see the tenants of the Axis Order spring within one of such a young age. But hearing this, I realized, I had no description of the girl I was looking for.

"Ah, w-well, umm, I have a name! Her name is Ferris."

The boy looked at me with the same dubious look Kazuma would give me; it was starting to become annoying.

"Um, onee-san…we kinda need something more to go on than a name."

I cleared my throat. "Don't worry, your onee-chan will get you what you need; I'll be back."

I quickly left the orphanage. The only person who could tell me how this girl looked like was of course, her sister.

_**-Capital, the Jailhouse…**_

"Umm, can I speak with a girl named Gren?"

The guard stared at me. "The high security prisoner? Sorry, who are you again?"

The nerve of this person. I scoffed loudly and crossed my arms. "Surely you've heard of me, I'm the goddess Aqua; patron goddess of the Axis Order."

The guard raised his brow. "Goddess…of the Axis Cult…right; definitely checks out."

I smiled. "So I can—"

"No, of course not; I'm not about to have some crazy fanatic go down and speak with a high-sec prisoner!"

"C-Crazy?!"

"Now go away before I—"

"I'll have you know I was responsible for defeating the Demon King!"

"Sure you are; everyone knows Satou Kazuma was the one responsible for that."

"B-But I was—I **am** part of his party!"

The guard frowned. "Listen, if you continue to keep spouting nonsense and pester me, I'll toss **you **into one of the cells, got it?!"

"B-But I'm telling the truth!"

"Alright, that's it, I'm gonna—"

"W-Wait," I said, backing away, "I-I'll just grab some of my followers and they'll be able to tell you everything I've said is true."

Suddenly, the guard went pale.

"Huh, are you okay; I'm an Archpriest, I can—"

"It-It's fine." He cleared his throat. "Look," he whispered, "I'll give you five minutes, no more than that. Just…don't bring any Axis Cultists here…my job is already stressful enough as it is."

I clasped my hands together and smiled. "Ah, thank you!"

"Ugh, just hurry up. Five minutes, you hear?!"

I quickly made my way past the guard.

"Hmm…" I pressed a finger to my chin as I looked around. "Where could she be? Hey," I shouted to one of the patrolling guards, "can you tell me where the girl, Gren, is being held?"

"Huh, who are **you**?"

"Oh, I'm uh—a friend of hers."

"A friend?! BIND!"

I fell to the ground, bound by the guard's rude sneak attack. "W-Wait, what are you doing?! I was allowed to come down here by the guard upstairs!"

"Yeah right, you're probably an intruder trying to break out the prisoner; nice try."

"No, no, I promise! I need to ask her something; he only gave me five minutes! Please, untie me!"

The guard picked me up, opened the nearby cell, and tossed me in. "You stay here; I'll go see if what you're saying is true."

"W-Wait!"

The door slammed shut. I couldn't help but feel sad; I could feel my tears starting to run down my face and nose begin to get stuffy. As I sobbed, I heard a familiar voice speak; I think it was the girl I was looking for.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked.

I looked around. "Where"—I sniffled—"Where are you?"

"Over here," She said.

I followed the sound of her voice and saw a small hole in the wall. "Gren-san, is that you?"

I could see two green eyes on the other side of the hole.

"Hey, you're that lady; you were with Satou-dono's party."

"Mhm, my name is Aqua."

"Ah, Lady Aqua, why are you here?"

"I was looking for you."

"Looking for me, why?"

"I need to ask you about your sister."

"My sister? Ferris? What about her?"

"I'd like to help find her, but I don't know how she looks."

"Are you really trying to help find her?"

"Of course, as a goddess, I can't just sit by and watch as an innocent little girl is held hostage by an advocate of the Demon King."

"Goddess…umu…well, I'll trust you…not like I have a lot of options at the moment," she mumbled. "Ferris has long pale blonde hair—almost white. Deep green eyes—like emeralds, darker than mine. And one of her more distinguishing features are her ears."

"Ears, what about them?"

"They're pointy; she's…half elf."

"A half-elf? Hmm, Gren-san, you have black hair, why does your sister have white?"


	5. Chapter 4: Sisters in Trouble

**Chapter 4: Sisters in Trouble**

**Part 1**

Just as I heard her about to reply, the door to my cell unlocked and swung open. The guard who bound me stood scratching his head apologetically. "Uhhh, sorry," he said. "You were…actually telling the truth."

"I told you as much!" I said angrily. "I'm expecting some form of compensation, you know."

"A-Ah, of course." The man undid the binds and let me out. "Ah, y-you said, you wanted to speak with the prisoner, right? I can—"

"Humph, nevermind, I'm leaving. You can send that compensation to the Satou estate in Axel."

"Wait, Satou? As in Satou Kazuma?"

"Hmm, uh, yeah, why—"

The guard immediately dropped to the ground and prostrated himself. "Forgive me! I didn't know you were part of the House of Satou!"

"Eh…" I cleared my throat. "That's right, I'm part of the House of Satou; in reality, I'm its eldest member, so that means I'm the authoritative figure. Kazuma looks up to me, you know; he gets all his knowledge and advice from me. So, if I told him, you threw me in jail, he'd be pretty angry."

The guard gulped loudly. "P-Please—"

"Aqua-sama."

"—Aqua-sama, don't say anything about this; it was an honest mistake."

"Humph, I'll consider it…if you join the Axis Order." I pulled out a recruitment sheet.

The man looked at me and the form in my hand.

"Well?" I said, nudging the paper closer.

"Hmm." He seemed to be really contemplating this when the option should've been a no-brainer.

"Hey, aren't you gonna join?"

He scrunched his brow; he looked like he was **really** weighing his options…but it should be obvious.

"Hey, are you really thinking about this?"

The guard scratched his head, pressing his lips tightly in thought. "I…I don't know…maybe being executed would be a mercy."

I quickly grabbed the man and shook him wildly. "You'd rather die than join the Axis Order?!"

He quickly pulled out an amulet in his coat. "S-Sorry, I'm—"

"Ah, a dirty Eris cultist!" I spat on the ground.

_**-Later that day, evening; back at the mansion in Axel…**_

"Ha, got you this time, Dark—wha, hey!" Megumin yelled.

Her and Darkness were playing the chess-like game; a 'no-Explosion' rule was in place.

"Ah, seems like you're gonna lose," I said, glancing over at Megumin's failing progress.

She flinched slightly at my mentioning. "N-Nonsense, Kazuma, this is all a part of my plan," She said with a false bravado.

Darkness moved a piece in place; the game was over, Darkness won.

Megumin clutched her head in despair. "Ugh, this is why I like playing against Aqua."

"Speaking of Aqua," Darkness said, "I haven't seen her all day."

Megumin sat up, a more serious expression on her face. "Hmm, I haven't either."

"Irene," Darkness called, "has Aqua told you she was going anywhere?"

"Unfortunately, she hasn't, Lalatina-sama," the maid answered from the kitchen; she was hot at work making dinner.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry," I interrupted. "Knowing Aqua she's probably at the guild having a couple drinks or something; that girl will turn up sooner or later." I was playing with Chomusuke as I lounged on the couch.

"You don't think she went back to Heaven or something, right?" Megumin said worriedly. "I mean, she has been acting pretty down ever since the mission."

It was something that certainly made me think it was a possibility. At her core, I felt that Aqua was the biggest crybaby in the group despite being the eldest; again, it was a distinct possibility.

"Even if she did, Ambrosia-sama will probably send her back down after a bit; she still has a job to do down here. After all, it was a personal task given to her by her own 'oba-sama', so I doubt Aqua would just up and abandon it."

"True," Megumin said.

Just then, the door opened and in came the goddess in question; a thin stack of papers in her hand, her back slumped over, a look of exhaustion upon her face.

"And speak of the devil," I said, glancing over at her. "Where've **you** been?"

"Excuse me, **I've** been busy."

"Oh yeah, doing what exactly—and getting drunk doesn't count so don't go saying—"

"I've been trying to find Gren-san's sister!" Aqua quickly retorted.

"Oh?"

She showed off the stack of papers in her hands; they appeared to be fliers for a missing person.

I sat up in surprise. "Oh, Aqua, nice one."

She smiled proudly as she handed one over to me. "Well, what do you think?"

Megumin and Darkness also looked over the fliers in question.

After a moment, I looked up at her. "Oi, I thought this was a 'missing persons' flier, but this is really just an Axis Cult recruitment form, isn't it?"

By the dubious looks on Megumin and Darkness' faces, I could tell they too came up with the same conclusions.

"N-No—of course not!"

Megumin interjected. "No matter how you look at it, Aqua, this basically looks like a recruitment form with a kid's portrait on it and some **very **minor differences."

"I-I just want everyone to know that the Axis Order is the one spearheading the recovery of this innocent child."

I sighed. "To think that you'd even take moments like these to push your agenda; this is one of the reasons why the Axis Cult is so looked down on."

"Hey! I'm seriously trying to find her; I even got put in jail for doing so!"

"Wait, what?!"

Aqua ignored my retort. "What's the issue with these fliers anyways? So what if they look like recruitment forms."

"It'll clearly have the opposite effect," I answered. "No one wants to associate themselves with the Axis Cult."

"Not to mention, everyone's wary of receiving **anything** from an Axis Cultist," Megumin explained.

"**Especially** forms," I added. "Listen, Aqua, just get rid of the obvious things, keep the portrait and info and it should be ok."

"Is this really her?" Darkness said; she was staring at the portrait in question.

"Umu," Aqua answered. "I went and asked Gren-san directly."

We all stared at the picture.

"Who made it?" I asked.

"I did, of course," Aqua replied, proudly placing her hands on her hips.

If it was Aqua, I could definitely see how this could be her work; frankly speaking, the portrait looked more like a snapshot or an image created from a modern printer.

"Is she an elf?" Megumin said; she did so presumably after noticing the pointed ears.

"Umu, Gren-san said that she's half elf."

"Oi, Aqua," I said, getting her attention. "You did all this yourself?"

She smiled as if she were receiving praise. "I had some help from my lovable faithful. I even had some of the kids from the orphanage help out. Tomorrow, I'll hand out the rest of these around town."

"I can help you, if you'd like, Aqua-sama," the maid said as she stepped out with trays of food.

Aqua clasped her hands together in happiness. "Thank you, Irene; I know you're an Eris Cultist, but you can be an honorary member of the Axis Order."

The maid coughed slightly. "I'm humbled."

After we ate, we all went about doing the things that would wind us down. Eventually night came and we went to bed.

_**-Next Morning**_

Morning came and as planned, Irene and Aqua headed out to distribute the remaining fliers. Darkness left soon after to help at the school. I, who, for one reason or another, was already awake fairly early decided to relax this day. As I lounged on the couch, the only remaining member of the household came.

"Kazuma," Megumin said, rubbing away the drowsiness in her eyes, "where'd everybody go?"

"They went out to do stuff, why?"

"Just wondering," she said, taking a seat in front of me. "It was quiet, so I was kinda worried." She let herself fall over and was now laying in front of me, her back to my chest. "Say, Kazuma," Megumin said, turning around abruptly, "don't **you **have anything to do?"

I scoot back a bit; Megumin's face was really close.

"Ahem, not really; just some waiting really. Gotta wait for Holt to message me on the reward, Claire too, and as far as the issue with the shop attendant, gotta wait on the trial."

Megumin stared at me idly.

"What?" I said, growing somewhat uncomfortable.

She smiled mischievously. "…nothing."

I sat up. "You know I'm trying to relax, right?"

Megumin tilted her head slightly, staring at me with innocent eyes. "So, what's the problem?"

"_This…_really? You trying to play coy with me?"

She smirked slightly, and then looked away.

As I stared at her, I noticed her pajamas tops were riding slightly high; her belly was exposed, revealing a fair bit of skin. More than this, the clothing itself appeared to be slightly tight on her; did she purposely do this to try and seduce me?

"Oi, Megumin," I said with a mildly serious tone; it got her attention.

"Hm?"

"What's up with your clothes?" I said, pointing at them.

She looked herself over, pulling down on the exposed bit. She continued to look, and then, after a few moments, looked back at me. "I think they don't fit."

"They don't…fit? You actually grew?"

Megumin frowned at me. "Of course, Kazuma; what'd you think, I'd stay the same size forever? I'm a girl going through puberty, of course I'm gonna grow a bit." She once again looked over the clothing. "These must be an older pair."

"How'd you not notice?"

"I must've been too tired." She then turned her attention to me. "How about you?"

"How about me, what; notice you growing?"

"No, how about **you**; haven't you grown a bit too?"

"Ah, oh, well…yeah."

"But your tracksuit still fits you."

"Oh, I fixed it up myself, see?" I showed her the small markings of it being resewn.

"Hmm, you've gotten pretty good at tailoring, haven't you?"

I shrugged. "I do what I can."

Megumin smiled. "I was thinking of gettting rid of these, but why don't you refit them instead?"

"Well—"

"They'd be a good source of experience, if you do."

It was a solid argument…and I didn't have anything to do. "Sure," I said, shrugging once more.

Megumin began to undress.

"Oi," I said, holding the clothes together, "what are you doing?"

"Taking them off."

"I'm gonna hit you."

"Why are you suddenly acting so innocent, Kazuma; you've seen me on several occasions."

She was right, but it didn't mean it was any easier seeing her willingly expose herself.

"Besides," she continued, "It's not like I'll be completely naked."

"You're not wearing a bra, are you?"

"No."

"So you don't mind if your—"

"Do you?"

"That's not the point—why are you making this difficult for me?"

"Because…" Megumin slowly let go of her clothes. She looked away with a slightly remorseful expression. "I want…I just want you to do something to me already." She turned her gaze back at me; her eyes with glowing brightly.

This time, I turned away. "Megumin, I—"

She pressed forward. "Just…something—anything, Kazuma…please?"

"I…I can't." I swallowed deeply. "If I do, I…I know I won't be able to hold myself back."

She grabbed my hand and quickly placed it on her chest. I almost pulled away instinctively, but she held my hand in place.

"Do you feel that?" She said.

It was her heart; I felt it beating strongly. I nodded.

"I feel this way every time—every time, Kazuma. I"—She let go of my hand and hugged me—"I know you're doing this for my sake, so…I'm sorry, but I, I don't know what to do."

"…is…Explosion not enough anymore?"

"It's…different. It's different; it's similar, but…it's not the same." She pulled away and sighed deeply. "I'm sorry to tempt you like this." She looked down despondently.

I sighed as I sat beside her. "You know," I said, "back then, if you presented me with the same scenario…I don't think I would've hesitated. I think I would've found it odd, but…I don't know."

"I don't think I understand; you say you love me, and this is what you want, but…"

"I think it's because of that, that I find it so hard, Megumin. Every time I get the urge to, it's like there's something in the back of my head reminding me that you should be different, that I shouldn't just…think of myself. Sometimes I'm pissed at it…but…most of the time I feel…relieved."

"So…when; how long am I gonna have to wait?"

I smirked; I felt it was kinda odd for a girl to be the one saying such things. I looked at her. "Do you want it to be now? Are you okay with it just being a spur-of-the-moment thing? There's—"

"What do **you **want, Kazuma; what do you want it to be like?"

"I want it to be a good experience for you," I said seriously. "I want you to be…happy."

"And you don't think it would be if we did it now?"

"No," I replied, looking at her.

"I do though; I think **any** time would be enough to fulfill that criteria."

"How?"

"Cause it'd be with **you**; that's all I'd need. All I'd need is for it to be with you, Kazuma, and it'd be the best…I'd be happy."

I felt embarrassed by her sincerity. "Even so…I still think…you deserve better." I stared at her. "But if you feel like you don't want all that then…"

I leaned forward and pushed her down. As I drew closer, Megumin placed her hand on my chest, stopping me.

"I'll…I'll wait," She said, looking away timidly.

"Oh, so now you'll wait; after I got so worked up. Now **I** can't back down."

I opened her pajama tops and stared at her bared chest; it rose sharply as her breaths became more pronounced. Her rosy nipples were already puffed up in response to my earlier action. I traced my hand along the side of her stomach, up along her ribs, and finally grasped her budding breast softly; she let out a gasp.

"Kazuma," she said breathlessly, "wait."

I ignored her plea and continued. I was curious about her, about her body, and as I thought, I could feel the mental restraint I put on myself slowly start to unravel. I quickly leaned forward and pressed my tongue to her other nipple. Her body jerked under me. I could hear Megumin begin to pant as I cupped my mouth around her breast, tenderly sucking at its perky bit.

"Wait," She said once again, her voice nearly lost under the heavy panting; her hands pressed against the back of my head in contradiction.

I moved her hands and pulled away. Grabbing the hem of her pants, I pulled them off. She wore black panties with a set of red diamond patterns; these were new. I pressed my face to them, my nose taking in her scent; it was an interesting smell, mildly soapy with a tinge of musk. I was so close to her. I could feel myself beginning to slip; if this went on…I pulled away once more, I could feel the dampness on my nose, see it building along the sides of her panties.

"Kazuma, please," She whimpered.

I stared at her. I could hear my own heavy breathing and slowly started to come to my senses. "Do, do you see; is this what you want? If you do—"

"I," she said, breathing ever heavily, "I, I'll wait." She closed her legs tightly. "Look away," She said.

"Why?"

"Why do you think?!" she yelled in frustration. "I need to…relieve myself," She said, almost overcome with embarrassment.

"Wait, you're gonna—"

"Shut up, just shut up and turn away!" She said, kicking at me.

I grabbed her legs and pulled them apart.

"Wait, Kazuma, what are you—"

I quickly thumbed the fabric into the parting of her lips. Almost instantly, I felt Megumin fidget and let out a loud gasp as the dark underwear were now visibly stained, the blemish slowly ballooning outwards across the garment. As I pressed my thumbs upwards, she arched wildly and cried out loudly; a moment later her underwear was completely wet.

"There," I said. "You okay now?"

Megumin nodded weakly, her eyes glazed over with pleasure.

I sighed, and I as I went to get up, she grabbed my arm. "Wait," She said, still panting.

"?"

"Now…now it's your turn." She quickly sat up and reached into my pants.

I winced as Megumin's cooler hands wrapped around my radiating shaft. She squeezed slightly, and then began to pump. With her other hand, she pulled down my pants and underwear, exposing me to the open air. I grit my teeth as her strokes came faster.

"Mmm." Megumin smirked, and then licked her lips in anticipation. "You're almost there, aren't you; you're about to explode."

I threw my head back as the tip began to twitch, a slow leak of cum coating the surface. The next instance, a jet of murky white liquid shot out, followed by several smaller bursts. Megumin slowly kept pumping all the while, my mind hazy with euphoria. As I sat back panting from the excitement, I felt a tingling and warm sensation run along the length of my shaft; Megumin was licking it.

Her tongue traveled its length and as it got to the tip, she closed her mouth around it. In the meanwhile, her tongue rolled around the sides, and as she gently pulled away, pressed itself into the tip.

"Gah, Megumin, what the hell." I threw my head back once more as my hands dug tightly into the couch's fabric. _"What the hell…so this is a blow job? It's amazing! _Megumin," I said breathlessly, "I, I think…I think I'm gonna"—I grabbed her head—"CUM!"

I felt myself let go into her mouth continuously, each load I could hear her swallow deeply. I let go of her as my arms and body went completely numb. Megumin, in turn, slowly pulled away coughing, strands of the hot liquid slowly dripped from the sides of her mouth and chin. She sat back on the arm of the couch with a satisfied look on her face.

"There," she said, "**now**, I'm ok."

"_This cheeky brat,"_ I thought, but I was too tired and too impressed to say or do anything else.

After a while of "cooling off", I cleaned up my "mess" (being careful to not overlook anything) while Megumin went ahead to take a bath. As I cleaned, Chomusuke came over and watched silently.

"Alright, time to get rid of the evidence," I said. "Tinder." The rag I used went up in flames. "Keep this a secret, ok?" I said to the curious creature; it meowed in reply.

I sat back down on the couch and sighed. Chomusuke jumped onto my lap and curled up.

"Geez, you have a crazy master." I said, petting its head.

Chomusuke purred.

I chuckled. "You probably already know that though, don't you?"

I looked over to my side; Megumin's pajamas were still here. After all was said and done, she headed over to the bathroom just wearing her underwear; it was a thought that began exciting me once again, but as I heard Chomusuke purr, I quickly relaxed.

"Well…" I grabbed the clothing. _"The original intention should still stand, right?"_

I headed up to my room to find my tailoring kit, Chomusuke followed.

"Alright," I said as I sat on my bed.

I pressed the near-translucent thread to the clothing and it immediately took its color; magic thread, I've used it a couple times now, but every time I did, I was reminded of how awesome something like this would be back in Japan; it was one of the times where this world's tech seemed slightly ahead of my own.

I took a piece of cloth and pressed it to the clothing; this was something called 'Mimicloth', it bore similar effects to magic thread because it used some in its own construction. Both were fairly expensive—usually to the point amateur tailors couldn't afford it, but, well…it wasn't an issue to me.

While under the instruction of Chekera, the tailor of the Crimson Village, these were some of the things he taught me. He told me that using these two things could help cut down on mistakes, frustrations, and most importantly, time when tailoring; after using them myself, I sort of understood what he meant and could see how one tailor could provide service to so many people with little issue.

In contrast, when I visited the Royal Tailor, I didn't really see any of these things; traditional methods, the ones I was more familiar with, were employed. Perhaps it showed the level of expertise these artisans had, that they didn't need the advantage and simplicity of such items.

"There you are," Megumin said, coming into my room; she was wearing a bathrobe. Her hair, still damp, matted to her skin. "Oh, so you're actually fixing it?"

I frowned. "Why, was it simply an excuse to wear these?"

"Of course not," she said, climbing onto the bed. She picked up Chomusuke who was clawing at the side of my bedpost and crawled over to my side.

Megumin lay her back against my own; I could feel the wet strands of her hair drape along the back and sides of my neck. I could hear Chomusuke purr, presumably from Megumin petting her.

I stopped and took a deep breath.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" Megumin asked.

"Nothing," I replied, continuing on my work.

"Hmmm, really?"

"Yeah," I replied casually.

Truth of the matter was…I was feeling less secure around her; because I initiated this time around, the self-imposed limits I placed on myself felt far weaker; I felt like losing myself to her, but what little self-control I had left surprisingly won out in the end.

By the time I finished, Megumin had fallen asleep; she transitioned from sitting to laying down, Chomusuke curled on her chest. I held up the pajama top and admired my work; it was almost indistinguishable from a store-bought one. I looked over at the pants; they would need a bit more work to get them to fit.

I put the clothing down and stared at Megumin; she looked like a different person when she was like this, it was "moe" as hell. I smiled faintly, and then laid down, staring at the ceiling. I felt Megumin's fingertips touch my hand, and then slowly, grasp it.

I quickly glanced over. "Oi, Megumin," I said, trying to get her attention, but she was actually in a deep sleep. I looked down at our clasped hands, I was embarrassed; this was such a clichéd thing to do, and here she did it unsuspectingly. I closed my eyes and gently tightened my grip around hers. _"Just for now,"_ I thought, a small smile forming along my face.

_**-Sometime later…**_

"Kazuma!" I woke up to yelling of an annoying goddess.

"Uh, what, what's going on?" I rubbed my eyes drowsily and sat up.

"I could ask you that very thing; what are you doing with poor Megumin's pajamas?!"

"Huh?" I looked down; at my foot was indeed, Megumin's pajamas. "I was sewing them; they were small on her." As I said this, I noticed Megumin was nowhere to be seen. "Where is she by the way?" I asked.

"Downstairs with Darkness."

"Ah, Darkness is back too?"

"You two weren't doing anything lewd while we were gone, were you?"

"Tch—what's it to you?" I got out of bed. "What time is it?" I said, yawning as I stretched.

"Almost evening."

"Oh, so you actually did some work today; I'm impressed."

Aqua frowned. "I always do; I'm the most active person—"

"Stop. Did you manage to get through the remaining fliers?"

"Ah, well…"

I knit my brow and crossed my arms. "What happened?"

"N-Nothing! Ahem, since Irene came with me, we decided to change a few things with the fliers."

"Like?"

"N-Nothing significant; I just ended up passing out pamphlets with the fliers instead."

"_It seems like the maid helped avoid a train wreck. _What was the pamphlet about; was it just another recruitment form in disguise?"

"There's no disguise involved, Kazuma! Anyways, I handed them out with the fliers; it just details the tenants of the Axis Order, how and where you can join, and at the bottom a small box with information where you can turn in the pamphlet to join."

"_So it __**was**__ a recruitment form…"_ I sighed. "Did you get rid of all of 'em?"

Aqua nodded. "We ended up giving all of them out."

"_I can imagine the garbage bins around town will be full of Axis Cult propaganda for a while." _I sighed once more. "Alright, come on."

**Part 2**

"Hey, Aqua," Megumin said as we came down, "can you switch places with Darkness?"

"I don't know why you're complaining, Megumin," Darkness commented, "you were the one who asked me to play with you again."

Aqua answered. "Sorry, Megumin, I'm too tired to play right now. Right now, all I want is a nice warm bath and a drink."

"I'm starting to think you actually live on purely alcohol," I remarked.

"I-I never said it was alcohol!"

"But it is, isn't it?"

"…I'm having a tall glass of milk."

"In a hot bath?"

"So even **you** admit that having a drink in the bath is refreshing!"

"Sure I do, Goddess of Alcoholism and Drunkards."

Aqua went to choke me, but I somehow managed to hold her back; defeated, she begrudgingly gave up and headed to the bathroom.

I sat on the couch.

"Hey, Kazuma, would you play with me?" Megumin pleaded.

I know what she meant, but the words still sent a jolt up my spine. I could tell I was blushing with how flushed I felt; I looked away in order to hide the most of it.

"You always use Explosion and Teleport; that game is pretty bs." I turned to Darkness. "How the hell do you manage to beat her anyways?"

"A stalwart defense, Kazuma," Darkness replied with a proud smile.

"Darkness just tends to surround my mage and tank all my attacks," Megumin stated offhandedly.

"_Ah, so another bs tactic."_

"This is why a no-Explosion rule is stupid," she said resolutely. "How else am I supposed to break through such a tough defense?"

"I think that's the point of defense," I remarked. "Anyways, why don't you guys play something else?"

"Actually, Kazuma, can we go out and do our daily?"

"Huh, no, it's getting late; if you use your Explosion spell, we're liable to wake up the giant toads."

Megumin shuddered. "Eh, uh…nevermind," she said dejectedly.

"Giant toads?" Darkness said with a smirk. "I'll accompany you if you'd like, Megumin."

"Umu, go with Darkness; worse comes to worst, only **you'll ** be eaten."

"Nonsense, Kazuma, I'll make sure to guard Megumin with my life; I'll draw their attention to me since I don't have my armor."

"_Ah, that's right, Darkness' armor was completely destroyed in the last battle."_

"T-That's alright, Darkness," Megumin said rather nervously. "I'll wait till morning."

"A-Are you sure, Megumin?! I know how bad you feel when you don't use Explosion." Darkness was desperately trying to get Megumin to reconsider.

"Eh, no, it's alright, Darkness; recently I've been able to endure going without using Explosion every day."

"Really?" Darkness said in surprise. "What changed?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Well, you use to go pretty crazy if you didn't use it every day; you'd become pretty impulsive."

I interrupted. "You mean more than she already is."

Megumin knit her brow at me, and then turned her attention back to Darkness. "Nothing, I've just learned a bit of restraint is all."

I glanced at her. Almost as if she knew I'd do this, Megumin looked at me out the corner of her eye with a slight frown.

Darkness sighed. "Guess it can't be helped then. Well, I'm off to bed early; I have quite a few things to do tomorrow."

"Oh, the oujo-sama is gonna be busy tomorrow as well?"

Darkness looked at me disapprovingly. "Goodnight," She said as she went up to her room.

I quickly got up. "Well, I'm off—"

"Wait!" Megumin said, grabbing my arm.

"What?" I was feeling anxious.

"Um"—Megumin began to fidget and looked away timidly—"can…can you teach me some more Japanese tonight?"

I relaxed somewhat. "Why are you fidgeting? It's giving me different impressions."

Megumin's face slowly grew rosy, turning an almost full crimson moments later. She clutched my arm tighter and tugged me gently downwards, her mouth meeting my ear. "Did…did you like it?" she whispered coyly.

I pulled away and gulped, sharply turning my face away from her gaze. "Umu," I replied with a short nod.

"Do…you want to…"

I stared at her, her increasingly brightening eyes staring back. I closed mine for a moment and shook my head. "We," I began to say rather hesitantly, "we need to—"

She hugged me, placing her head on my chest gently. "Ok," she said, "I'll follow your lead; you **are** my leader."

I felt bad for denying her; I wanted her too, but I couldn't tell you why I kept such things at arm's length. It didn't even really make sense to me. Still, I took her up on her offer. Megumin came to my room that night.

_**-Nighttime**_

I was anxious as I waited; several minutes already went by when I decided to head to bed. As I was about to completely turn in, there was a knock on my door. Although I was expecting it, her, the knock still surprised me.

I answered quickly with a slightly high tone. "Come in!"

She did. Megumin was wearing her usual sleepwear; this time it was fitted to her, slightly loose, but still complimenting her appearance. In her arms, tightly clutched to her chest, was the notebook; in her hand, a pencil. She quickly rushed over to the bed and climbed beside me excitedly; her actions were in contradiction to the timorous look on her face.

As I stared at her somewhat nervously, Megumin's eyes darted away from mine, stealing glances from time to time. She slowly scoot closer and placed the notebook my lap.

"_What an odd girl," _I thought; how her actions and personality would swing in ways I couldn't really follow; sometimes she would be timid, as she was now, and other times she would be bold and assertive. Who the "real" Megumin was, I still didn't have a firm answer.

"What," she began to say, though her voice was almost a whisper; she cleared her throat and said in a slightly louder tone, "what are you gonna teach me…tonight?"

I cleared my own throat. Since my mind was aflutter with such thoughts, it didn't take a genius to see how I could interpret such a line as…suggestive. "We'll uh…ahem…review, I guess."

"Umu." She nodded in compliance.

Minutes went by as we reviewed prior lessons, but the tension was still in the air. As time went on, Megumin drew progressively closer to me; first, we were shoulder to shoulder as she looked down at the notebook; then, minutes later, she began slumping closer to it; till finally, she was lying on her stomach, hands under her chin. She kicked her legs childishly as I continued to teach.

"_She looks slightly bored…is she…expecting more?_ Oi, Megumin."

"Hmm?" She replied, looking up at me.

"You bored?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Why?"

"Ah, well, you sorta look like it."

She sat up. "Nope, was just paying attention; it's a lot to remember, especially the combinations you guys use to make words. Kanji seems easier."

I grinned. "Really? I find Kanji harder; it's more of a memorization thing."

"Hmm…you probably don't know this Kazuma, on the count that everything is just sorta translated for you, but our language is mostly like Kanji; the symbols just mean different things and mixing them produces different words and meanings."

"Really? Hey, Megumin, can you write your name down?"

"In Japanese?"

"No, in your own language."

She did so. I stared at the symbols and noticed that they were very similar with little to no variance between them.

"Hmm, never really noticed before, but you're right; the symbols **are** very similar to each other."

Megumin smiled once more. "Seems like the student has surpassed the master."

I grinned in response. "Hey, I never said I was a master at anything; I'm not as pretentious as someone who calls herself 'Master of Explosions'."

"It isn't pretentious if it's true, Kazuma."

I chuckled. "I wonder how'd you be if you never learned Explosion magic."

Megumin's smiled immediately evaporated; in the silence, she looked down in deep thought.

"Hey, did I say something I shouldn't have?"

She shook her head slowly. "I kinda wonder too…what if I never met you as a result…you and Aqua…"

The air felt tense again, but it was in complete opposition to the reasons earlier. I closed the notebook and placed it to the side.

"Time to sleep," I said, gently guiding Megumin down towards the bed.

She, seemingly still contemplating the thought, was startled by my action, but quickly accepted it. She stared at me with eyes full of worry as I pulled the sheets up to our shoulders.

"Oyasumi, Megumin."

"Oyasumi…Kazuma."

I stared at her as she slowly closed her eyes; a few moments later, I too, closed my eyes and fell asleep.

_**-Hours later…**_

"NO! NO! PLEASE, NO!"

I quickly woke up. "Oi, what the hell, Megumin?!"

"Kazuma?" she said breathlessly. The next instant, she threw herself into my chest, hugging me. "Kazuma," She sobbed, tightening her embrace.

"H-Hey, what's up with you?_ Why is she crying so much; did she have a nightmare?_"

"What's going on?!" Aqua yelled as she burst into the room; Darkness was right behind her.

"Megumin, what are you doing here?" Darkness queried.

"Kazuma, did you—" Megumin jumped out of bed and ran over to them, she hugged them as if they were about to disappear. "Megumin…"

"I'm so glad you guys are ok," she sobbed. "I'm so glad I met you guys; please, don't…go." She sunk down; whatever happened in that dream caused her unimaginable grief, of this much I was certain.

I walked over and gently placed my hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's ok, it was just a bad dream; we're all here."

Despite me trying to console her, Megumin kept crying.

"There, there, Megumin," Aqua said as she pet her head, "we won't leave you." She hugged her back, Darkness did too, and soon I felt compelled to do the same.

After this, we all agreed to sleep together for the rest of the night. Luckily, this calmed Megumin, and after sobbing for another hour or so, she was fast asleep along with the others. I stayed awake a while longer, thinking what sort of dream she could've had that caused her such grief. She cried about us not leaving her, so maybe it something of the sort; Megumin **was ** wary of such things, even when we first met her, it would be no surprise if her nightmare did entail such a scenario.

_**-Next Morning**_

When morning came, I awoke to find Aqua and Darkness already downstairs; Megumin was still asleep.

"Kazuma," Aqua whispered loudly as I was coming down the steps. She motioned me over.

"What?" I said, stretching as I yawned.

"Me and Darkness were thinking about Megumin, maybe we should all go out on her daily and have a picnic."

I thought about it. "Not a bad idea, sure."

"Everything's done, Aqua-sama." Irene came out of the kitchen with a large box wrapped in cloth.

"Thank you, Irene."

"Lalatina-sama, I've also packed extra meals for you; please don't forget to eat them, they were made with special attention."

Darkness nodded. "Thank you, Irene."

The maid turned towards me and stared silently.

"…oi," I replied in discomfort.

"Ah, forgive me Satou-sama, I was staring at the large spider perched on—"

I quickly batted at my head in a panic.

"—oh no, forgive me, that was just your destroyer-like eyes."

I sucked my teeth. "Should I go wake Megumin?" I said, turning to the others.

"Umu," Aqua replied.

"We'll wait for you at the usual spot," Darkness said as they began to walk off.

The maid turned to me and said, "I'll tend to the garden, Satou-sama."

I watched as she disappeared out the front door, and then headed back upstairs. Megumin was still sleeping, her expression serene, but the rim of her eyes still rosy from all the crying she did.

"Oi, Megumin," I said, rocking her gently.

"Kazuma." She woke slowly and smiled weakly as she saw me.

"Hey. You wanna go do our daily?"

She nodded just as weakly.

"Alright, go get dressed."

She sat up and looked around. Once she got up, Megumin grabbed the notebook and pencil from the nearby table and stumbled drowsily down the hall.

After I got dressed, I headed out to the living room to see if Megumin was around, she wasn't. "Oi, Megumin, you done?!" I yelled.

"Almost!" I heard her yell back.

"I'll be out front!"

When I stepped outside, I caught Irene cleaning the small gravestone of our resident spirit.

"Hey, you know that's my job?"

"Nonsense, Satou-sama, this falls under my purview." She stared longingly at the gravestone.

"Oi, are you her mother?"

Irene turned slowly towards me, her eyes seem to say, 'are you an idiot?'.

"I only ask cause she's supposedly the byproduct of the previous lord having an affair with the maid."

"…I think I've seen her," She finally said.

"Who?"

"The little girl. She's a kind soul, if not a bit unruly." I caught a glimpse of a smile before it suddenly disappeared. "She…she's unfortunate." Irene stood up and donning some work gloves, went to tend to the garden.

"Kazuma," Megumin said as she came out.

I turned to her. "You ready?"

"Umu," she nodded. "Goodbye, Irene," Megumin said as we walked by.

She bowed. "Be safe, Megumin-sama."

We were quiet while we walked. Eventually, after we were past the city gates, I spoke.

"So, what happened last night; what'd you dream about?"

Megumin looked away, tightening her grip on her staff. "I, I don't wanna talk about it."

"That bad, huh? Ok."

Silence came over us once more, then Megumin spoke. "I"—she walked closer to me—"I…I'm happy that I met you guys."

"Umu. Hey, you don't have to say anything if it bothers you that much, you know."

She lowered her head. "It was…"

I grabbed her hand. "Don't worry about it; I'm here—we're all here, so you don't have to think about it anymore, 'kay?"

She nodded silently as I caught the faint smile from the corner of my eye.

"Hey," I continued, "if you're gonna call yourself Master of Explosions, this one better not be any less than 100 in score, got it? Otherwise I'll tell everyone you're just a joke mage with delusions of grandeur."

I felt her grip around my hand tighten. As I looked over, her solemn expression was gone, replaced by glowing crimson eyes and a rowdy smirk. "Nothing less, of course," She replied, the smirk turning into a beaming smile.

I couldn't help but grin.

When we arrived, Aqua was already seated on the drawn-out cloth; she was happily eating away at the homemade sandwiches and snacks while Darkness stood looking out at the scenery. Despite the many craters and holes, the surrounding area was still quite nice; the sounds of birds chirping, and the noise of the nearby stream completely contrasted the reason why we came out here. If I was a bit honest, I felt kinda bad having Megumin destroy such a scene.

"You've really done a number on this place," I commented as Megumin stepped forward.

She answered without looking at me. "What are you talking about, Kazuma, this place is better thanks to my Explosions."

"Really?" I said with a highly sardonic tone.

She pointed out in the distance; I looked. There, where she was pointing, was the sight of small creatures drinking from the edge of one of the craters. As I continued to look, I saw more of the same around the landscape; birds and flying creatures made nests in the large open lips in the sides of the manmade cliffs, other creatures made their homes in the collapsed piles of rock, and even flora began to bloom in the overturned mounds of earth. I guess even something as destructive as Explosion could bring about life in some capacity.

"Hey, won't your Explosion end up killing these creatures though?" I said as I thought about it.

"Such is the way of life," Megumin replied chunnishly.

Really, this girl…

"Now watch," she continued, "I'll make sure this is a perfect Explosion."

I still felt kind of bad for the wildlife as Megumin walked ahead, but I more strongly believed that her relief from such a terrible night was more important to me. As we waited, Aqua got up and stood next to me and Darkness. Megumin was standing a couple meters ahead of us silently. She looked back and smiled, then, looking ahead, thrust her staff into the air, and yelled, "EXPLOOOSSSION!".

Afterwards, I gave Megumin some mana. We retreated to the shade of the tree where the picnic blanket was at. I also made sure the tree was a normal tree; I didn't feel like going through the trauma of being nearly strangled once again. As we ate our meals, I glanced over at Darkness who had a sort of remorseful look on her face; I had to imagine she felt sad she wouldn't be hovering off the ground as a tree vine strangled her…hopeless.

"Kazuma, Kazuma," Megumin said happily, "how was it, how much do you give that Explosion?"

"Hmm," I rubbed my chin, "I'd give it a perfect 120 points." Megumin beamed at me. "However, due to your total lack of regard to the wildlife in the area, I'm gonna deduct 20 points."

She wore a sad expression for a moment, but then smiled once more. "Umu, fair assessment, Kazuma; next time I'll be more careful."

"I heard the construction companies are making a killing on fixing all the damage you create, Megumin," Aqua remarked, nonchalantly stuffing her face in the process. "Hey, Kashuma," She said with swollen cheeks full of food.

"Swallow your food, you idiot; you're spraying it all over me!" I said, shielding my face.

Aqua frowned at me, but she swallowed the food in one gulp. "I was saying, maybe you should take advantage of this and start a construction company."

"Oi, what exactly do you think I am, a con artist?! What you're describing is fraud."

"It-It technically isn't since you're not the one causing it," Aqua argued.

Really, this goddess was shameless.

"Are you really a goddess?" I protested.

"Of course I am! I'm just trying to give some suggestions; you're always blaming me for spending '**your**' money, but every time I give an idea, you're always so quick to turn it down." Aqua, seemingly growing bored of the discussion, turned away to grab some more snacks.

"I wouldn't have an issue with it if everything you suggest isn't a crime or just flat out stupid."

"Whatever, it's not my fault you can't understand; you're just a hikkiNEET with little understanding of the world—everything you suggest comes from your computerized experiences."

I glared at the pompous idiot who was spewing nonsense; I wanted to punch her.

"Kazuma," Darkness finally said; we turned our attention to her, "you've said you wanted to start a business, right; so maybe something like what Aqua is suggesting isn't a bad idea."

I gave it some thought. Being an adventurer was a tough life; lately I haven't died, but it didn't mean the world wasn't trying its damnedest to try and do so. Being a merchant was likely a more rewarding and peaceful lifestyle suited to me, but for some reason I felt a strong aversion to accepting this…perhaps it was my gamer sense of competitive spirit preventing me. When I said nothing in reply, Megumin spoke.

"We still have to defeat the other Demon Kings, Darkness, remember?"

"That's right," Aqua, the goddess of cons and fraud chimed in.

The reminder seemed to sour my mood. "Oi, just because there's that pending questline doesn't mean I have to be tied down to only one route; if I wanna become a merchant or businessperson, I'll do it, ok? Anyways, enough about that; let's just enjoy the mood."

After another hour or so, we packed everything up and headed back to the mansion. Upon our arrival, we entered and took our place in the living room; despite having rested for the last couple hours we were still somehow tired.

"Satou-sama." The maid came over.

"What is it?" I replied, opening one eye as I laid on the couch.

She stuck her hand out, at the end was a letter.

I sighed deeply, and reluctantly, took the letter. Opening it, I found a familiar handwriting; it was the writing of my lovable little sister, the Princess of Belzerg, Iris. I quickly sat up. Megumin, on whose lap I was lying on just moments ago, noticed this and asked, "What's wrong, Kazuma?"

"Iris-chan," I answered happily.

"Iris?" both Megumin and Darkness said simultaneously.

"Umu," I replied, as I quickly read over the brief letter. "…ah," I said in a somewhat disappointed manner.

"What's it say?" Megumin queried.

I lowered the letter. "The trial is being held tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Darkness said with some surprise.

"That's so soon," Megumin commented. "I suppose she wants you to be present?"

"Likely as a witness," Darkness added.

"Eh, yeah," I replied.

"We should all go," Megumin stated. "If saving her is the objective, it'll be easier to provide a solid defense with more people."

Thinking back to my own trial, these three were likely to screw things up if I brought them along; however, Megumin made a good point. If it was only me, defending this girl would be pretty tough, I knew close to nothing about her, and everything I did, would just end up furthering her criminality in the eyes of attending.

"Alright."

"I guess we should head out?"

"Yeah, I think it'd be a bad idea to be late for something like this."

"So, back to the family estate?" Darkness queried.

"That's right."

Aqua perked up upon hearing this. "Oh, we're going back; good, there's still a bunch of wine and drinks I haven't even tasted…and-and it'll be good if we could save this girl, of course!" She tacked on after seeing my face. "Ahem, I'll give the greatest defense, just leave it to me."

"Didn't you say you wanna save this girl?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

After nearly getting assaulted by Aqua, I packed my bags (the others didn't have to since they bought most of their necessities last time) and we all headed to the Teleport Station.

"Oh, what's this," Aqua mocked. "not gonna order a carriage this time?"

"Shut it," I grumbled.

After the teleport, we arrived in the capital. It was still the early morning, just before noon, so we decided to get a light brunch and take in the sights. As many times as we've come to the capital, there were still so many places we haven't visited. As we passed by a familiar shop, Aqua stopped.

"What's wrong, Aqua?" Darkness said, turning to look at her.

Aqua stood quietly, pressing a finger to her chin as she squinted at the shop to our side. I looked over.

"_Oh no…"_

"That shop," she said. "It's giving off a disgusting scent; it seems familiar…but I can't quite…put my finger…on it." She furrowed her brow in deep thought.

Yes, the shop in question, the shop this useless and troublesome goddess was seemingly interested in was, of course, the "Devilishly Good Magic shop".

**Part 3**

"We should keep going," I said rather casually.

However, Aqua was already walking towards the shop.

DING!

"Ah, custom—"

The penguin devil and the so-called goddess looked at each other in surprise, and then pointed in unison.

"It's you!" they shouted.

"Why you…I knew I smelled something rotten!" Aqua yelled. "Look, Kazuma," she said, glancing at me while pointing. "They're even in the capital now; I knew it, I should've exterminated you when I had the chance! SACRED HIGH—"

I smacked her stiffly behind the head. As Aqua turned around to yell at me, Zereschrute ran over to Megumin and hid behind her leg.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Don't think I'll defend you, I'm no friend of devils either!"

"P-Please, Crimson Demon-san, I simply wish to sell my wares; I've done nothing wrong."

It was hard to refute this claim and once again the goddess of unfairness and instigation was attempting to purify this devil. As Aqua endeavored to get a clear shot for her spell, I tugged on her shoulder.

"Oi, just leave him alone," I said. "It'll be troublesome for me if he gets purified; he's the one handling the money we're getting from the manatite sales."

"You expect me—a goddess—to let this cretin live?!"

"Hey, stop causing trouble, will ya? This devil is at least trying to be useful, unlike you."

Aqua gasped and then grabbed me tightly by my shirt. "You take that back! How dare you say a devil's more useful than me, you ingrate!"

After wrestling free from Aqua's grip, I turned to the devil who was still trembling behind Megumin.

"Hey, did the money come in yet?" I asked.

Zereschrute shook his head tentatively. "It'll likely be a while; manatite isn't easy to mine, you know."

I sighed and then turned my attention to the items around the shop. "Oh!" I said as something caught my eye. "What's this?"

Zereschrute, who was shaking uncontrollably a moment before, walked out proudly from behind Megumin's leg and crossed his stubby flippers.

"Ha, I see it's caught your attention; that's an item known as a 'Torment Stitcher'."

I looked at him blankly. "Should I even ask what it does?"

The item looked like a monster plant in a game from back on Earth; it was a pretty old game with a plumber who traveled through many worlds to save a princess.

"Heh." Zereschrute smiled proudly. "It's an item that'll prevent death."

"Oh, that's—" I curbed the excitement I briefly felt. "What's the catch?"

"Huh, what are you talking about; there is no catch."

"Wait, what? You mean if you use this item, you won't die?!"

Aqua interrupted. "Why do you need some stupid item, Kazuma?!" She then pompously pressed her hand to her chest, presenting herself. "Did you forget I can revive you?" The self-serving goddess then smiled cluelessly.

"Shut up, you moron; this thing prevents death—meaning I don't have to die."

Megumin stared at the devil and then at the item, then at me. "I don't know, Kazuma, it sounds like one of those things that are too good to be true."

She was right, and upon giving it a second thought, I pressed the devil shop owner for more details.

"This thing has no downsides, right? Nothing like coming back with one eye or becoming an undead, or-or—"

"Of course not! The Torment Stitcher prevents death by latching onto the afflicted's wound and then using the fibers of its body to completely restitch the wound, no matter the severity."

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's it."

I scrunched my brow together in doubt; frankly speaking, the item was too good to be sold in a shop like this. I once again questioned the devil selling it.

"So there's no other side effects?"

"I already told you, human, no—"

"Does it cause pain?" Megumin interjected.

Zereschrute went silent, coughing lightly seconds later. I narrowed my eyes on him. Seeing this, he coughed once more.

"W-Well…yes."

"Aqua, you can go ahead and purify—"

"W-Wait; it's true the plant causes extreme pain to the host; however, I wasn't lying when I said it'll heal whatever wound no matter the severity."

"Wait," Darkness said. "E-Extreme pain? K-Kazuma, I think we should buy it—j-just in case Aqua isn't around when something bad happens."

Me and Zereschrute stared at Darkness in disgust.

"So, it's some sort of symbiotic creature?" Megumin said, staring at the item from a slightly closer range.

"It's…um, yeah, you could say that."

I stared menacingly at the devil.

He quickly corrected his statement. "It-It's a sort of lower demon; a plant found where arcana density is fairly thick."

I sighed deeply. "Just what the hell are you selling; isn't something like this liable to get you targeted by priests?"

The little devil frowned. "I'm selling a most useful item that can help save a person's life—"

"While causing a massive amount of pain the process," Megumin added casually.

"It-It isn't my fault it grows in Maxwell-sama's territory! Anyways, you aren't obligated to buy just as I'm not obligated to host pets in the store!" He said exasperatedly, pointing at Aqua as he did.

"You!" I held Aqua back as she was about to pounce.

Zereschrute immediately retreated to the safety of Megumin's back once more.

"Stop instigating her," I said, pushing Aqua back forcefully.

Zereschrute coughed once again, as he retook a formal stance. "A-Anyways, I'd be willing to sell it to you for cheap."

"Why would I wanna buy something like that?"

"That disgusting little thing is useless," Aqua said arrogantly.

Oh, the irony…

She continued. "With me around, Kazuma won't have to worry about getting hurt or dying."

"W-Which is why we should buy just in case—"

"Shut up, Darkness," we all said at the same time.

She staggered backwards and clutched at her chest as she fell to her knees panting heavily.

"I can understand the apprehension you might have; however, the problem is easily solved. All you have to do is rip the plant out once the wound is stitched closed; you'll even net some experience points for doing so."

The last bit piqued my interest, glancing over at Megumin, it seemed to pique hers too.

"You can get experience points just from ripping this thing out?"

Zereschrute nodded. "You can even use it several times; all the plant requires a bit of blood and it'll be as good as new, ready to perform its duties."

"Thinking about it, I could probably grind some levels doing something relatively low effort. How come more people don't do something like this?"

"Eh, well, the plant is fairly rare on the surface; it'll dry up without a source of arcana."

"Arcana?" It was the second time I heard Zereschrute mention it.

"Ah, that's right, you probably don't know human, but devils and beings from hell produce arcana."

"It's the antithesis to my divine, pure, and holy mana," Aqua stated, her tone growing more self-absorbed towards the end.

"I see. So, how exactly would this thing gonna be able to live in our mansion, if I, say, bought it?"

"You needn't worry; Vanir-sama lives in the vicinity, even the trace amounts of the arcana he exudes would be enough to sustain the plant."

"No, Kazuma, I refuse to let something like this exist around me; it's disgusting, it's like having a small imp stare at you while you're doing your business in the bathroom."

"Or like having Kazuma stare at you while you walk around clad skimpily in your nightwear," Darkness added excitedly.

"Oi!" I turned back towards Zereschrute. "How much would it be—if say, I was interested."

"Hmmm…" The devil seemed to be seriously contemplating the price. "At 10 million—"

"Okay, bye, I'm leaving," I said, turning away.

"N-No, wait, wait!" He yelled, running after me.

I stopped.

"Five—"

I kept walking.

"Three!" Seeing me continue to walk off, he finally yelled, "One!" painfully.

"One million?" I said, turning around.

He nodded with a regretful look.

"Why, you were just offering it for ten; why would you sell it for so low?"

"Truth of the matter, it's quite…illegal."

I turned around and began to walk away. The devil grabbed me by the hem of my pants.

"Wait, wait, human, please, take it off my poor flippers."

"Why the hell would I buy something illegal?!"

"It-It's not…well…not yet—it could be any day now, but for now, it's not."

For now, he says. I sighed deeply. "300,000."

"Three hundred—"

"Oi, this thing is shady as hell, there's no way I'm gonna spend more money on something so uncertain; 300,000 or you can keep your plant."

"…ugh, fine, human; you drive a hellish bargain, you'd make a fine devil."

I didn't really know if I should take such words as a compliment; I felt I shouldn't.

After buying the item, we left the shop.

"K-Kazuma, can I hold it?" Darkness said with an overly excited expression.

"No, you'd probably just hurt yourself—"

"Never, Kazuma," Darkness said, her voice and face completely serious; for a second she threw me off guard…but then she continued. "You really think I'd inflict self-harm?"

I almost thought it was a trick question. "Uh, yeah, you always do; everything you do is to somehow inflict some unjust injury on yourself, you masochistic weirdo."

Darkness looked like she wanted to hit me, but the stupid expression on her face told me she was wrestling with the lewd thoughts running through her mind at the moment.

"Such an odd-looking plant," Megumin said, staring at it.

"Purification!" Aqua yelled out of nowhere.

Amazingly, I dodged her outstretched hand and shoved the end of the pot into the top of her head.

"Oww!" She rubbed her head viciously, tears dotting the corner of her eyes.

"Oi, you idiot, what do you think you're doing?! I just paid 300,000 for this!"

"Kazuma, that thing's pure evil, I can sense it!" She yelled, pointing angrily at me.

"Listen, even though it causes extreme pain"—Darkness was audibly panting—"the benefits it brings can't be understated."

"Fine then," Aqua said with arms crossed," as long as that thing's around I'm not healing you; I refuse to heal you, Kazuma, you hear me!"

"Umu…guess I'll just look for an Eris—"

"K-Kazuma-san, I was just joking, you don't need to go looking for another healer!" Aqua yelled, pouncing on me with tears in her eyes.

Since I purchased the weird plant creature, Torment Stitcher, we headed to our home in the capital to drop it off. In the rear of the manor there was a small garden-like area; in this area, there were several sections to plant stuff in, but all of them were either empty or occupied with the remains of long-dead flora. In the center of the area were several seating arrangements complete with a small round table; it appeared to me that this may have been a place used to entertain guests.

"I really don't get her," I said to Megumin and Darkness; I was placing the pot the creature was in into one of the available sections, "she befriends another monster without any reservation, but immediately tries to destroy one that arguably has great benefits."

"I agree," Darkness said in a serious tone. "This plant has nothing but benefits going for it."

Me and Megumin glanced at her disapprovingly.

Megumin interjected. "Perhaps it'll grow on her, but you gotta admit, the Tranquility Girls are much cuter than this thing."

"They also prey on people," I retorted. "In any case, if we could somehow find some way to farm experience from this thing, it'll be worth than more than I paid for it."

Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my shoulder tightly; even without looking at it, I already knew who it belonged to.

"No, Darkness, I'm not using you to farm the experience."

"W-W-Why though?! I-I mean." She cleared her throat, and then continued with a serious voice. "Kazuma, right now you're the weakest out of all of us." I frowned. "As such, I'd be more than happy to help you increase your levels in preparation for the fights against the other Demon Kings…umu." She nodded, satisfied with the batch of bs she just spouted.

I shrugged her off. "Maybe if I get desperate, but for now there's no need; so stop bugging me about it."

Darkness backed off with a flustered expression, a quivering smile growing on her face. Ugh, there really is no saving this one.

As Darkness headed back into the house, Megumin looked at me.

"What?" I said.

"Are you really gonna do that to Darkness?"

I scoffed. "Of course not, but I know she won't stop asking if I don't say something like that."

Megumin let out a breath of relief.

Of course, I really didn't plan on using Darkness as the host for this thing, but…I mean…we'd both be benefitting from such a plan so…it wasn't really bad, right; I wasn't being depraved in thinking it would be sensible…right?

"Hey, Kazuma, we're still going out to eat, right?" Aqua said as me and Megumin walked back into the house.

"Yeah; there's no food here and I'm too tired to make something at the moment."

"Right then, since you and Megumin showed me some place last time, how about I pick the restaurant this time?"

"I refuse."

"Huh—why?!" Aqua wailed.

"Your tastes are too expensive."

"Hey, aren't you like a middle-aged man hogging all the money he has?! We've got plenty so it should be alright to splurge a bit."

"Oi, did you forget you spent 26 million on alcohol alone, you damn squanderer!"

"And you seem to keep forgetting you broke my bottle of expensive wine; like I said before, spending that much was a mercy!"

"_This bitch…"_

"I don't even understand why you're so upset; we have plenty of drinks to choose from now and not to mention you'll only end up having to spend a fraction of what you already owe me."

I wanted to choke this shameless goddess so much, but against my wish, I held back. "Oi, Darkness," I called out.

"What is it, Kazuma?" She said, standing at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, don't you have any suggestions for a place we could eat?"

"Hmm…" Darkness placed a hand on her chin as she thought. "Several," She finally replied.

"Umu, good, pick one and let's go."

"Hey, Kazuma," Megumin said, "I'm surprised we're heading to another restaurant after what happened last time."

"Oi, are you intentionally trying to set up flags?"

"No, no, just genuinely surprised; I thought you'd be against going out after that."

Well, to be honest, Megumin wasn't wrong in her assumption; however, I felt it was unlikely something like that was to happen twice in a row and in such short time. And frankly speaking, even if something **were** to happen, I'd immediately run away using my 'Escape' skill.

Sure, that would mean leaving the others to fend for themselves, but I was just one person, they were three; on top of that, they were much higher level than me. That's right, if I stayed behind in such a scenario, I would only prove to be a hindrance to them.

Luckily, the place Darkness chose was a relatively upstanding establishment; it wasn't very classy, but neither was it very casual; simply speaking, it was as I imagined a restaurant **should** be. Heading back to the manor after we ate, Aqua complained about the meagre selection of drinks the restaurant offered.

"Why are you complaining; you're just gonna drink something else once we get back," I remarked.

"That's besides the point, Kazuma; we paid—"

"I paid."

"My performance gave us a hefty discount!"

It was true; Aqua, dissatisfied with the drinks, assembled many wine glasses and played out a symphony that captivated the hearts and attention of everyone in the restaurant. Even I was surprised.

"When are you gonna start performing for money? If you did something like this for a living, we'd all be better off, and you could live that luxurious life you always wanted."

"I already said I don't do my performances on demand; besides, if you say it like that it makes it seem like I'm showing off my talents on the simple whims of others. Plus, why bother, I can just simply live off the riches you bring."

"…" I made up my mind to throw away her rock collection once we got back to Axel.

On our way back, we stopped by the markets and bought some ingredients for tonight's meal. When we finally returned to the Dustiness family manor, it was already nearing the evening. I set about prepping the meals while the girls went to take their baths.

I settled on making something simple, a chicken broth; of course, getting the vegetables to boil was the most time-consuming process. The solution I came up with to deal with this madness was simply tossing the veggies into the boiling pot, and then pressing down on the lid for a couple minutes. There were occasions when they would still be alive when I removed the lid, however, as my experience in cooking grew, those occasion became less frequent.

I leaned against the counter opposite the stove and sighed. Tomorrow was the trial; on one hand, I'd likely be able to see Iris again, but on the other, this was a serious case. Whether this girl lived or died was dependent on how well me and the others were able to defend her. There was also the problem of not knowing who would oversee the trial itself.

I huffed once more, crossing my arms. Frankly speaking, I felt the store attendant's fate was out of our hands. Outside abusing the authority of my house, I could really see no other way to stop whatever judgement was going to be passed on her. As I resolved myself to letting providence have its way with her, I remembered the words the Spymaster of the kingdom said to me. Her life might not have mattered much to me, but to someone else, it did—and it wasn't like I was apathetic to what was occurring, however, if I was honest, I didn't know her.

Other than seeing her when I went to visit the Royal Smith, I never once saw or thought about her—hell, even when we I did see her, I merely thought of she was a background character. She was pretty, but besides that, there was nothing more I could really say or feel about her specifically. Were it not her having a younger sister, I probably would've just let the system handle her case.

Was I wrong for feeling this way? Surely, I couldn't be; her choices were her own, the consequence as well. It wasn't like she was being framed like I was during my own trial.

PFFFF! The sound of sizzling water boiling over snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Ahhh, that was pretty good, Kazuma, thanks," Darkness said as she leaned back in her chair; we were done eating.

"The vegetables were mushy," Aqua complained. "Felt like I was eating a soggy potato chip."

"_This useless…_ah, next time I'll make sure there's less water content in your meal, Aqua-sama," I said with an overly sweet tone.

Aqua stared at me for a second, and then smiled. "Good, about time you got serious with my meals."

"Umu, umu, _next time I'll make sure they're as dry as the surface of a salt flat._"

"I didn't think it was too bad, Kazuma," Megumin commented. "Maybe left it to boil a little bit, but at least it was edible."

I don't know if this loli was trying to make me feel better, but her comment just seemed to aggravate me more.

After the meal, Aqua and Darkness went up to their rooms while me Megumin slept in hers; my bed was still broken from the encounter with the assassin, I'd have to get it fixed at some point.

As Megumin changed behind a small set of byobu, I laid on the bed reading a book.

"Ohhh, I definitely thought you would peek," Megumin said with a small teasing smile; she was wearing a set of red silk robes.

'At what exactly', I wanted to say, however, I didn't really feel like sleeping out on the couch. That said, I was momentarily surprised by how stunning she looked in such simple attire—even if I didn't show it.

Interested by my lack of response and attention, she continued. "Hmm, what you reading?" She asked as she climbed into bed.

Megumin lifted the book slightly, getting a look at the title: A Guide to the Laws and Rules that Govern Us.

"Really?" she queried. "When'd you get this?"

"After my trial," I replied, still keeping my eyes on the book.

After that botched witch hunt, I swore to myself that I would never be put in such a situation again. Well, that was half the reason, the other half was making sure I could use said laws to defend myself, my property, and valuables against my party mates; that being said, I **just** started reading it.

"I see. You're actually concerned about the trial tomorrow, aren't you?" Megumin smiled. "If you're so concerned, you should've just asked me, I know a bunch about the legal system."

I glanced at her with a blank expression, and then went back to reading the book.

"Hey!" she yelled. "What's with that look?! If you got something to say, then say it!"

I frowned. "Did you forget how 'useful' you were during my trial?! Thanks to you and Aqua I almost ended up being executed—if it wasn't for Darkness, my head would be rolling into a basket at the end of that day."

When she heard my retort, Megumin quickly shrunk. "I-I may have…underestimated…some things."

"Anyways, go to sleep; you don't have to stay up because I am—I'm more suited to sleeping late than you are."

To my surprise, Megumin complied. She snuggled into the side of my arm and closed her eyes. Maybe because she abided by my order so readily, I immediately felt sort of tense. I glanced over at her, and as I did, she said, "Goodnight, Kazuma; don't sleep too late."

_**-Next morning**_

"Kazuma." I heard Megumin's voice and felt myself being nudged.

"Ugh…is it morning already?" I said drowsily opening my eyes.

"Umu, but the trial shouldn't be until the afternoon."

"So why are you waking me again?"

"I made breakfast for all of us; if you keep sleeping Aqua's gonna eat your share." Megumin left the room as she said that.

I threw my arm over my eyes; even through the curtains light still poured in. As I came downstairs, Aqua was already lounging lazily on the couch. Megumin was at the table studying Japanese.

"Where's Darkness?" I asked, taking a seat across Megumin.

"Huh, oh, Darkness is exercising in her room."

"After eating? Wouldn't that upset her stomach?" I asked, grabbing my own plate of food.

"She didn't eat much. She said she had to 'burn off some stress'."

"Hmm, I sort of pictured that being something that catered more to her fetish."

Megumin shrugged. "For all we know, Darkness' method of training and exercise could very well play into her fetish."

Silence fell as ate my breakfast, Megumin continued studying.

"You're surprisingly studious, Megumin." I leaned back in my chair.

"Not really," she replied, looking up from the notebook, "I did the required amount of studying during school, but really I only look into things that interest me."

"Should be a short list then, right?" I said with a half-mocking smirk.

Surprisingly, Megumin smiled back. "Umu," She replied.

"…well, I'm headed back to bed; wake me up a little closer to the trial time."

Megumin gave a short nod, her attention still fixed on the notebook. The lack of notice she gave me irked me some, but at the same time I wasn't so petty as to cause a scene because of it. As I walked back up to Megumin's room, I heard the chair she was sitting on slide back. Her eyes still fixed to the pages, Megumin followed closely behind me.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?"

Without even glancing my way, she answered just as seriously. "Heading back up to my room."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Are you serious right now?"

"Of course."

"You wanna sleep too—"

"No."

"…_what's up with her?_ Are you gonna keep studying?"

"…maybe."

I was starting to grow agitated. "Ok, guess I'll just sleep in my own room then."

**Part 4**

As I turned around, Megumin did the same and continued following me.

"Oi," I said, my brow twitching.

Finally, Megumin lowered the book so that only her eyes were visible; even this being the case, I could still tell she was smirking behind the covers.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

She raised the book ever slightly.

"…whatever, do what you want. I'm going to bed."

And so, she did, she kept following me; and despite me saying so, I was still bothered by it. As I entered my room and stared at the fractured bed, I sighed deeply. If I had my smithing tools, I could put something together to fix this issue temporarily.

I felt Megumin tug on my sleeve.

"What is it?" I said in a fed-up tone.

She lowered the book to show a childish smile. "Ok, I'm satisfied now, you can sleep in my room."

Really, this girl…

"Ah, so you were bothering me for fun, huh?" I turned around and grabbed her cheeks, pulling on them.

"Ahhh, Kashuma, wait, I'm sorry, ah, ah—you're hurting me—it hurts!"

When I let go, Megumin shoved the notebook into my chest.

"What?" I said, grabbing it. "Want me to teach you? Sorry, but I already said I'm—"

"Just hold it," She retorted as she rubbed her cheeks.

I folded the notebook and shoved into the top of her robes; unexpectedly, the notebook unfolded and slid down, catching on her loose belt. As Megumin fumbled to withdraw it, the book slid out and fell to the floor.

She looked up at me, frowning. "Why didn't you just hold it, like I asked?!" Megumin said, angrily picking it up.

"I did. Just didn't expect it to slide down like it did."

"Hey," Megumin said with a stern voice, eyes glowing, "just what are you trying to say?"

I averted my eyes.

"Hey, look at me! If you got something to say about me, then say it!"

"Oi, oi, let go of me—don't make me cast Drain Touch on you!"

Hearing this, Megumin finally let go, but her angry expression remained. "Really, Kazuma, you could be…such a…jerk…" She looked away, the anger present earlier giving way to a more solemn look.

I sighed. Such a self-conscious girl; Megumin could be so fragile at times.

"S-Sorry," I mumbled, looking away slightly.

As I glanced over, Megumin was looking at me with a pout. She grabbed on to my arm and laid on it.

"I'm not satisfied with just a verbal apology; you'll, you'll have to make it up to me somehow."

How suggestive, but I believe that's exactly how she meant it, going by her reddened tips of her ears.

"S-Sure."

Later that day, near the afternoon, Megumin woke me once again.

"Kazuma, wake up; it's almost time for the trial."

"Ugh…the trial." I sat up, wearily rubbing my eyes. "Darkness and Aqua, what are they up to?"

"Waiting downstairs."

"Right. Give me a few." I plopped back down.

"Kazuma!" Megumin yelled as she shook me.

I groaned in protest, lightly batting away her arm.

"Kazuma, come on, we're gonna—"

"Just give me a few, I'll be up…just a few." I said, dozing back off.

"You already slept so much; really, you could be ridiculous sometimes, wake up!"

Eventually, Megumin succeeded in waking me and the four of us were walking down the road towards the city plaza; it was the site of any public showings or ceremonies. When we arrived, there were already a bunch of people waiting for the trial to get underway. Amongst the attendees was a black-haired beautiful—if all too rigid—onee-san.

"Kazuma-dono," She said with a mildly surprised expression.

"Yo, Sena-san; why are you here so early?"

She knit her brow in bewilderment. "What are talking about, Kazuma-dono, the trial was supposed to start a couple minutes ago."

Darkness interjected. "So, what's wrong?"

Sena turned towards Darkness and cleared her throat. "Well…from what I've heard, Lady Dustiness, it's being decided who will preside over the trial."

"So late?"

"Well, it was supposed to be the King himself, but now the Prince and Princess are debating which one of them should be it."

"What happened to the King; why'd he suddenly change his mind?"

"I'm uncertain."

If I had to guess this was probably Iris-chan's doing; since I asked her to go easy on the shop attendant, she probably took it upon herself to make sure she was the one in charge of overlooking the trial. As the crowd and the officials started growing antsy, she made her appearance. Alongside her was Claire and Rain, a platoon of imperial knights flanking their sides.

"All kneel, her royal highness is in attendance!" Claire barked.

At the order, all the citizenry and officials knelt, the action spreading through the crowd like a wave. Even we knelt, except for the ever clueless one.

"Oi, you idiot, kneel," I said, grabbing Aqua's arm.

"Don't wanna, the floor is all dirty."

"Oi, hurry up and kneel, you're gonna attract unwanted attention!" I whispered harshly.

"The floor has tiny pebbles; it's gonna hurt if I kneel."

"Oi, Darkness, you grab her other shoulder," I said as I took hold of Aqua's arm.

"No, wait, let go of me!"

Aqua squirmed and cried as we pressed her into a kneeling position.

"S-Stop being so stubborn you moron!"

"Aqua," Darkness said, "if you keep doing inappropriate things like that, we'll be the next ones on trial."

She didn't seem to pay attention, the troublesome goddess was rubbing her eyes as she sobbed away; she said some nonsense about her knees hurting, but I tuned her out and looked up happily at my little sister who was now sitting upon a throne in front of us.

"All rise!" Claire yelled and everyone did, Aqua still sobbing lightly. "Bring in the accused."

On cue, two guardsmen escorted the shop attendant, Gren, into the plaza and onto the central platform before Iris.

"Gren Hallowitz, you stand accused of crimes against the state, treason. What say you in your defense?"

Gren closed her eyes and stepped forward. "I'm guilty."

The crowd instantly howled and booed at her declaration.

"_Wait, dammit, if she just goes ahead and says she's guilty we won't have an opportunity to defend her."_

"Guilty…" Claire repeated in an uncharacteristically regretful tone. She sighed deeply. "Very well…Hime-sama will now—"

"Wait!" Aqua yelled.

"_Oh no, if this idiot says something—"_

"It's true that she totally betrayed the nation by selling secrets to the Demon King's Army, but she did it for arguably something more important than her countrymen, she did it for family, that's right, she betrayed the kingdom for her sister!"

There were loud murmurs throughout the crowd as some struggled to condemn her in light of the new information.

"Settle down!" Claire yelled; the plaza's whispers subsided. She then turned to Gren. "Do you really not have anything to say in your defense?"

Gren hung her head low. Everyone could see that her spirit was gone, the poor girl was defeated.

"Oi," I shouted, "are you really okay with this? Are you really ok with leaving your little sister alone in this world?! She was kidnapped, right?! That's why you did it—for her, right?!"

The shop attendant perked her head up at my instigation.

I continued. "If you did it for her, then at least say so! All of us did something to help you out, don't waste our efforts!"

Everyone's eyes were on me, even Gren turned to look.

"You…" she began to say, then went quiet. The shop attendant closed her eyes firmly, and then sharply turned back towards Iris. "Please, let me fight for my right to live."

Iris, who had a serious look on her face all this time, finally relaxed and gave a demure smile. "The stage is yours, Gren-san."

"Thank you, Hime-sama," She replied, bowing her head deeply.

And so, the trial went on in earnest; there were multiple "witnesses" trying to defend Gren—not least of them being us, but regardless of whatever statements we threw out, Sena, picked them apart. Even though she was just doing her job as the kingdom's prominent prosecutor, it was still irritating to see her shooting down every attempt at absolving this girl of her crimes.

Frankly speaking, Gren was doomed. Unlike my trial, this girl **actually** did the crimes she was being accused of. On top of that, the ones defending her had practically no knowledge of her as an individual; it was going just as I thought it would.

Finally, after much back and forth for what seemed like a couple hours now, Claire spoke.

"Enough!" she yelled. "Hime-sama will now pass a verdict according to the evidence and testimonies." Claire leaned in as Iris whispered into her ear, she nodded a couple times, and then pulled away once Iris had done so.

"In light of the staggering amount of evidence against you, Gren Hallowitz, the crown finds you—"

BOOM!

A loud explosion rung out, but it wasn't like the spell, this explosion was much like that of a smoke bomb going off; and indeed, off to the side of the plaza a large smoke cloud appeared. Almost everyone turned towards the disturbance and in that split second, a grey blur shot past me.

"Assassin!" I heard someone cry out from behind me.

"_Assassin?!"_

It all happened within seconds; as the knights tried to assemble into a protective formation around Iris, they were quickly dispatched by several waves of precise dart attacks to the small openings in their armor. Rain, who was stunned by the sudden attack, met the same fate as the knights. Claire instantly dashed in front of Iris only to be shot with darts as well. Maybe five seconds had gone by, but Claire, Rain, the knights, they were all incapacitated.

As powerful as Iris was, she was still a little girl, and because of this, she froze for a split second; this, however, was all the assassin seemed to need as she leapt into the air with daggers drawn.

"Iris!" I yelled.

Even if I wanted to do something, it was too late.

"DIE!" the assassin yelled. Her daggers sunk into flesh and a loud cry could be heard throughout the plaza. She quickly darted back and jumped into an opening in the square.

Me and the others quickly ran up to Iris.

The girl, Gren, lay bleeding in Iris' arm; she took the blow for her. "Thank goodness, you're safe…Hime-sama."

"W…Why?" Iris said, tears building.

"It's my fault…for putting you…in danger," she answered weakly. "Please…don't tell…my sister."

"Heal." Aqua nonchalantly cast her spell on the dying girl, once again oblivious to the mood.

"…" All of us stared awkwardly at each other given the sudden lack of urgency.

Aqua quickly healed everyone else from their paralysis.

Claire shot up. "That bitch!" she yelled in anger, then noticing Iris next to her, quickly covered her mouth. "F-Forgive me, Hime-sama!" She quickly turned to Rain. "Rain, take care of Iris-sama. You all," she said to the knights that were stumbling to their feet, "restrain this girl; she's—"

"Innocent," Iris interrupted. "Gren-san saved my life; she took the stab that was meant for me."

"…that, that so? Ahem, well…you guys keep an eye on her then. I'm going after that impertinent wench; I'll not be made a fool of twice." With that, Claire ran off in the direction the assassin was last headed.

As I was about to focus my attention on my dear little sister, Iris, Megumin ran past me; she headed in the direction Claire went, and consequently, where the assassin was.

"Oi, Megumin!" I yelled, but she continued running, pushing past the crowd and chaos that was now ensuing. "Dammit, that girl!" I quickly turned towards Iris. "Are you ok?"

She nodded.

"Good. Darkness, stay here with Iris. Aqua, come with me."

"Do I have to; it seems like you're about to do something really stupid and dangerous."

"_Why is this goddess such a letdown_. I might need you in case one of us gets hit by those poison darts."

"It's fine; if you die, I can revive you, remember?"

"Oi, oi, now's not the time to make such stupid remarks; what happens if Megumin dies."

Seemingly aware of the raised stakes, Aqua gave a troubled look, but sighed. "Ah, ok." She placed her hands on her hips, smiling. "You guys are utterly hopeless without me."

"Sure, now let's get going! Darkness, take good care of her!"

"Y-You don't have to tell me that!"

Me and Aqua ran down the street, it wasn't hard to tell where the assassin went; she left a trail of paralyzed troops in her wake.

"Heal! Heal! Heal!" Aqua said as we ran by.

"This is ridiculous; just how many darts does she have?!"

Finally reaching the city gates, I could see three figures in the far distance; even without using Farsight, I could tell who they were.

"Aqua, give me some buffs and find cover; if you're hit, it's over."

"What is Kazuma saying; did you forget my hagoromo protects me from all abnormal statuses?!"

Ah, that's right, Aqua's raiment **is** a sort of divine relic. "Even so, this is the one time we don't need you drawing aggro." Aqua frowned at me. "Just sit back and wait till one of us needs healing or something."

"…fine." Aqua said with crossed arms. She cast all her buff spells on me; once she was done, I took off towards the hill in the distance.

_**-Meanwhile, on the hill…**_

"Ah, to think you'd chase me all the way out here," the assassin known as Nora Black said; she smiled mockingly at us.

Claire, who I stood besides, quickly withdrew her blade. "I thought of taking you back alive, but now I think I'll kill you; your crime of attacking a royal is unforgivable."

"Hmm, a shame that girl got in the way."

I spoke up. "Why'd you attack the princess anyways; something like that just seems suicidal in nature. Have you gone that crazy since the last time we defeated you?"

"Such a mouth of you, little girl. I already achieved my objective," She said wryly.

I knit my brow in confusion, and then a split second later realized. "Claire-san, attacking Iris was just a distraction."

Claire's eyes widened in surprise. "You wench!" She pulled her blade up in a readied stance. "Spill it, what's your true aim?!"

Nora smirked. "Guess what they say about the Crimson Demons is true. Anyways, I don't have time to play round with you two—"

"Drain Touch!" Kazuma appeared from behind the assassin with arms outstretched, however, the reflexes of this person were almost inhuman; she dodged at the last second and spun around kneeing Kazuma in the center of his chest. The next second, she darted off to the side, breaking our surround on her.

"Kazuma!" I yelled worriedly, but he stood up rubbing his chest mildly; seems like he was buffed by support magic, which meant Aqua must've given it to him before he came after me or she's somewhere around here.

As the assassin, Nora, stood cautiously pacing around us, Claire shot forward and began an aggressive assault. Although, I expected her to have some skills in combat, her display exceeded my expectations; she was fighting on more than equal footing against this assailant, in fact, her aggression was pinning the assassin down.

"You cur, you think you win against the might of the Symphonia family; there's a reason I was chosen to protect her highness, Iris-sama!"

"Tch—how annoying!" Nora yelled as she was pushed back.

As the two were fighting, Kazuma ran over to me.

"Oi, what the hell are you thinking—just what exactly did you think you could do by coming over here?!" He whispered loudly.

"I'm gonna hit her with Explosion of course!"

"You idiot, you'll probably end up killing Claire in the process…" Kazuma held a contemplative look for a moment.

"I wasn't gonna use it while she was close by; it's a Crimson Demon's talent to find the opportune moment to steal the spotlight, after all."

"You're getting in the way by being here! What would you do if she targeted you first, or Claire was incapacitated?!"

As if she suddenly grew aware of the danger, she quickly averted my gaze. I placed a hand on her head, matting down the signature hat she wore.

"K-Kazuma what are you—"

"Don't be so reckless," I said. "You can't revive like I can."

Once again, Megumin averted her gaze, but a light blush could be seen as she did.

"Alright, if you're looking to steal the spotlight, we'd better have a plan."

I said this, but from the looks of it, Claire didn't appear to be needing help anytime soon.

"You're just an assassin, you think you could defeat someone like me, a knight in the service of the royal family, preposterous!" Claire roared.

As I heard her say such flag-worthy lines, I felt a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach; I wish she wouldn't say such things.

As if spurred on by the lines themselves, Claire was hit with another paralyzing dart in the arm. The sword in her arm fell to ground as Nora pounced forward in a stabbing motion. Instinctively, Claire threw up her arm to block the stab, granting her another wound and yet another incapable arm.

"_Shit, where's Aqua; she's supposed cast Heal at a time like this," _I thought, looking around frantically.

"What's wrong, Kazuma?" Megumin queried. "What are you looking for?"

"Aqua, she's supposed to be around here somewhere…dammit, that idiot. I told her to support us with healing."

"I'll go find her," Megumin announced.

"Alright, hurry."

As Megumin ran off back down the hill, I turned my attention to Claire who was now kneeling before the assassin's daggers.

"Time to finish you," She said.

"SNIPE!" The arrow whizzed past the assassin's face as she shifted to the side. At the same moment, Claire shot up.

"You!" Dust flew into the assassin's eyes causing her to recoil, in the same instant, Claire tackled her to the ground, driving the dagger deep into her chest.

"You…" Nora said weakly, blood trickling from the sides of her mouth. "To think someone like you…would use such an underhanded trick." She coughed as she bore a bloody smile.

"Like I said, you underestimate someone under the employ of the royal family; I don't care what I have to do to protect her…Iris-sama is worth casting aside even my own ideals."

"That's why I can't stand you nobles…always spouting nonsense; my only regret is that I couldn't kill more of you…and your damn princess…"

Claire's eyes widened; her nose flared. "You scum, cease your talking!"

Nora laughed, itself turning into a violet cough spewing specks of blood all over Claire's face and white suit, but Claire stared unflinchingly at the at the assassin pinned under her.

"What…did that hit a little close to home?" She mocked, breaking out into another coughing fit.

"I said, cease speaking." Claire's voice was low and her hand trembled as it grasped the hilt of the dagger.

"Oi," I said, approaching her slowly, "what are you gonna do?"

"Kazuma, we're back!" Megumin yelled as she came over the crest of the hill with Aqua.

Aqua was rubbing her eyes groggily which meant this lazy bum of a goddess was actually sleeping in such a tense scenario.

I frowned, and then turned back to Claire. "So, what are you planning to—"

"I can't take her back to the capital, Kazuma-dono; she's too dangerous."

"So…you're gonna kill her?"

Claire remained silent.

"Aqua, heal her."

"Who, Claire-san or—"

"Claire obviously, you idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot; it's an honest question. Besides, the assassin looks more injured than Claire-san!"

I rubbed my temples in frustration. "Just…heal Claire."

Aqua did.

"I'll take care of this one," Claire said as she grabbed her sword beside her.

"No wait," Megumin interjected. "Let me."

We all turned to stare at her. Nora laughed once more, though her coughs and breathing were much weaker than a couple minutes earlier.

"Oi, Megumin, what's up with you; why are you so—"

"Don't misunderstand," Megumin interrupted, "I take no pleasure in killing, but I think hitting her with Explosion might be the quickest and cleanest way to get rid of her, even if I don't think she deserves it."

We stared amongst ourselves, Megumin made a good point.

"Megumin-dono, are you sure?" Claire queried. "Can you bear the weight of killing someone?"

Megumin looked down as she was asked that. "Like, Like I said, I don't find gratification in doing so, but…the things she's done…those are things I can't forgive."

Besides nearly killing me and Iris, I couldn't see why Megumin would be so resolute in being the one to handle the finishing…blow.

"Oi…you just wanna do this for the experience points…don't you?"

Megumin stiffened at my remark. She pulled down her hat to cover her face. "Of-Of course not. I-I simply believe that Explosion would be—"

"Oi, quit your lying you glory hound! This was your plan from the get-go, wasn't it?!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, I'm just making sure—"

I didn't let her finish, quickly pouncing on her and pulling on her cheeks.

"Ah, ah, Kashuma, wait, don't—ahhhh!"

In the end, the assassin passed away before anyone of us could deal the killing blow; in a way, I felt this was the best outcome for us. Despite her being an enemy, Aqua did her rites and burial. The rest of us sat some distance away waiting for Aqua to be done.

"I…I should've hit her with Explosion," Megumin said remorsefully.

"You're saying such things; you want me to hurt you again?"

"Please don't. I'm just saying, if I did it, we wouldn't have to deal with a burial. Even though I felt nothing but contempt for that lady, she was still a person…she died slowly…"

I knew what Megumin meant and I kinda felt the same way. It was a tougher pill to swallow when your enemy was human. I may have not been able to do such things, but Megumin would've; Explosion made sure the aftermath of such actions was practically nonexistent, the smoldering crater being the only evidence.

I sighed. "Well…she brought it on herself. Being an assassin, she must've known it would've ended like this for her one day…right?"

Megumin shrugged. "Maybe…"

"There, all done," Aqua said as she came back.

"Alright, let's head back," I said. "Yo, Claire!" She was sitting some distance away but got up when I called out to her. "We're headed back!"

"Then I'll go back with you all," She said as she walked over.

And so, we made it back to the capital which was now under some form of martial law. The plaza was completely cleared of civilians and only guards patrolled the streets.

According to the information Claire received from the guards, the King immediately declared martial law once he was notified about the assassination attempt. Iris was quickly escorted back to the palace along with Rain, Darkness, and the shop attendant, Gren. This being the case, we swiftly made our way to the palace as well.

"Iris-sama," Claire said as we entered her room.

"Claire, Onii-sama, Megumin-nee; are you guys alright? Claire, whose blood is this?"

"We're fine, Iris-sama and don't worry about the blood; things got a little rough, however, I prevailed."

Although Claire wiped the blood from her face earlier, the blood on the white suit was practically impossible to remove.

"What of the assassin?" Rain asked.

Me, Megumin, and Aqua stared at each other, however, Claire replied matter-of-factly. "She's dead."

"…who did it?" Iris asked. "Was it you, Claire?" She said, looking at the blood on her bodyguard's clothes.

Claire nodded silently.

"…I see; it must've been hard for you—"

"Not at all," Claire replied curtly. "She attempted to take your life, Hime-sama; I have no sympathy or remorse for such criminal scum." As Iris looked at Claire in shock, she added, "Let's not forget that she also killed many nobles. Someone like that isn't deserving of my sympathy, Hime-sama; forgive me if that startles you."

"N-No, I'm blessed to have such loyal retainers; t-thank you, Claire."

"Where's Gren-san?" Aqua asked.

Rain answered. "Ah, the shop attendant? She's in a separate room; although she protected the princess from harm she was still under trial when the attack happened. As such, we're keeping a close eye on her."

**Part 5**

Such a thing was to be expected; even if Gren **did** just save Iris from assassination, she was still technically a criminal until formally pardoned, but given the turn of events, Gren's freedom was more than likely.

"Glad to see all of you are ok," Darkness said as she came in from the balcony area.

"Ah, Darkness, what happened after we left?" I asked.

"The capital was almost immediately put into martial law."

"Lalatina escorted us back," Iris informed.

I smirked. "Ah, Lalatina, it's good to see that head of yours is good for something other than—"

"Kazuma, one more word and I'll show everyone in here what good **your** head is!"

"…so, now what?" Megumin said amidst the growing silence.

A quick rapping on the door was heard; we all turned to it.

A female voice on the other side spoke in a desperate tone. "Your highness, I'm to inform you that the prisoner, Wulf Sylban, has escaped; orders from the King and Prince are for you to stay in your room."

Claire walked over to the door; hand gripped around the hilt of her sword, she opened it slightly.

"Lady Symphonia." On the other side of the door was a female knight; likely one of the imperial knights throughout the palace.

Seeing this, Claire relaxed, letting go of her weapon. "What happened, how did—" She stopped, and as she seemed to recall something, placed a hand to her head. "Damn it," she cursed under her breath. "What a travesty."

"That was her objective," Megumin mumbled.

"Damn it," Claire said louder. She sighed deeply, and then continued. "Do you know where he is now—where he went?"

The female knight shook her head. "Forgive me, Lady Symphonia, I do not."

Claire placed a hand to her forehead and rubbed it angrily. "Rain, please look after Iris-sama." She then turned to Iris herself. "Forgive me for leaving so soon, Iris-sama; however, I must gather more information."

Iris shook her head. "It's ok, Claire, do what you must."

Claire nodded in response, and then left with the female knight.

"Since there's a known agent of the Demon King wandering around, I'll stay here and sleep by my little sister's side."

"You want me to beat you up!" Darkness yelled. "Stop saying such absurd things."

"And please stop calling Iris-sama your little sister," Rain added.

"And there's no way I'm letting you sleep alone with Iris," Megumin remarked.

"Yeah, we already know how you're like around lolis," the ridiculous goddess of parties and rumors commented.

Iris giggled. "I, for one, wouldn't mind Onii-sama's company."

"Iris!" Megumin, Darkness, and Rain yelled in their own ways.

"Alright fine," I said, "but I don't feel ok leaving Iris-chan alone while someone dangerous like that is running around; at least let me sleep in her room."

"Absolutely not!" Rain said resolutely.

"You're the most dangerous person here!" Darkness remarked.

"What's the point of leaving you to sleep in her room if we just rejected the idea of letting you sleep in her bed?" Megumin said, her eye's glow growing in intensity.

"Knowing you, you'll definitely crawl into her bed at night and do weird things to her," the inappropriate goddess of sundries and toilets voiced.

"Oi, I don't like that you guys see me this way; when have I ever done anything that warranted that type of thought about me?"

"…"

"Hey, come on, don't stay silent, I wanna hear about these so-called things I do to little girls! Right now all of you are just seeking to ruin my pure relationship with my lovable and adorable little sister, Iris-chan!"

"I can't really explain it!" Darkness said loudly. "However, I get this weird feeling when you look at little girls, Kazuma!"

"Hey, are you sure it isn't just you?"

"I haven't said anything because of Kazuma-dono's peerage, however, if Dustiness-sama is saying something, I will too," Rain interjected. "I get the same feeling of distress when Kazuma-dono comes to see Iris-sama; it almost feels like a suspicious older man giving candy to a helpless child while inviting them into a dark alleyway."

"Whoa, hold on, what's up with that type of imagery!"

"It's true," Megumin said. I turned to her in surprise.

"_This fuckin' wench, I'll pull on her stupid hair and face till she runs out of tears…"_

Megumin continued. "I got weird chills when I first met Kazuma, like all my hairs were standing on end. Little did I know, my instincts as a Crimson Demon were warning me of what was to come."

"Why are you saying such misleading things!"

"What exactly about what she said is misleading though?" the extra member of our party said; what made it worse was the fact that there was no malign intention behind her query.

"Oi, oi, that's enough! You're gonna make Iris-chan think I'm some sort of deviant!"

Iris laughed happily. "Is it ok for Onii-sama to sleep here if everyone else does too? I wouldn't mind."

The girls looked at each other in contemplation.

"I'll sleep on the bed with the princess!" Aqua declared.

"Then-Then, I'll sleep on her other side—if you'd allow it, Hime-sama," Darkness stated.

She nodded; her bright smile still present.

"I'll sleep with Kazuma on the couch," Megumin said, glancing out at me with a mildly angry face.

"I'll…I'll sleep here…on this chair," Rain said in a whisper-like tone. Her face was almost as red as Megumin robes; thinking about it, she must've been embarrassed to sleep in Iris' room; Rain wasn't around Iris unless it was for professional reasons.

Even though our sleeping arrangements were settled, it was still the early evening, much too early to sleep—especially for me. So, because of this, we decided on getting an early dinner; however, as an extra precaution, only select individuals were allowed to bring her food and/or drinks.

"Really?" I said to Rain; we were standing outside on the large veranda.

"Umu, it's a normal precaution in times like these," She replied.

Indeed, such steps were common even in my own world. During attempts against a leader's life, said individual would likely be put in a safe room and access to them was heavily regulated. Things like food and drinks would be closely inspected for poisons or explosives and even common things like radios, cellphones, or televisions would be denied—I've even heard stories of seemingly benign items like toilet paper or pens being rejected.

"Kazuma-dono," Rain began, "if it isn't too much to ask, could you bring the food and drinks?"

"You want **me** to bring it?"

"As much as I believe leaving Kazuma-dono with Hime-sama is a bad idea, I also believe you'd be the last person to try and harm her."

"_If I even could,"_ I thought, not that I'd ever want to.

"You don't have to go alone, in fact, I wouldn't recommend it, given the circumstances."

"I'm not saying you guys are being too cautious, but do you really think someone who just broke out of prison in the capital would march into the palace where both the King and Prince are? I mean, that's not even counting the imperial knights."

Rain sighed. "You can never be too cautious with matters like these, Kazuma-dono. In fact, I heard that assassin got away earlier, she came back and even made an attempt on Iris-sama's life."

She was right. Even if such things were unlikely, they weren't impossible. Wulf's objective in the capital was to obtain information on the royal family; if he could eliminate even one of them, such a thing would prove to be boon to the Demon King of the North; a successful invasion into the Kingdom would then become a very real possibility.

"Hmm, if you guys are worried about poison and stuff like that, I could bring the ingredients from the kitchen—"

"No, it has to be from outside; I know it sounds ridiculous, but if someone were to try and poison the royal family they would do so from our stock of food and ingredients. Drinks would be little more difficult since it would require sullying a variety of elements, water even more difficult since it can be conjured by magic."

Again, it made sense.

"Alright, I'll go by myself; I'll leave the others here just in case things get hairy. If I don't come back by night, just wait till morning to put out a search; Aqua will most likely be able to revive me."

"Wait, Kazuma-dono are you sure; I always heard you quite spineless with matters like these."

"Oi, I wanna have word with the people spreading these baseless rumors."

After relaying the plan with the others, I made my way to the market district. Despite, martial law being in effect, the markets and forums were still bustling with people. That being said, there were many more guards present; two for every four stalls I walked by and more around the perimeter. At first, I thought the amount was overkill, but thinking about it, the market district was probably the easiest place for an escapee to hide in.

Maybe because I realized this, I picked up my pace and gathered the ingredients in no time. There were so many things I wanted to get, but I was only one person, I could only carry so much. Ultimately, I wanted to cook for Iris, so I got things that would've made for a new experience for her. After paying for the things, I quickly headed back to the palace; to my relief, nothing unusual happened.

When I returned, there were a pair of female knights standing at the beginning and ending of the corridor leading to Iris' room and another set standing at the sides of the door.

"Name and purpose," one said sternly.

"Satou Kazuma, I went to buy ingredients for dinner."

They glanced at each other and then back at me. The same knight spoke once more. "Satou-dono, mind if we look at the bags; we'd like to check them for dangerous items."

I knew they were just being cautious and doing their jobs, but I was already searched coming into the palace grounds, palace proper, the entrance to the wing, the corridor leading to the room, and now at the door; even a guy like me, a man with infinite amounts of patience, would start to get annoyed.

"Hey, I've already been searched all the way over here, can you just let me go inside; Iris-sama is waiting for me to cook her meal."

"Satou-dono, forgive us, but we must ask that you comply; if you really are a servant of her highness then you'd see the value in doing so."

I couldn't get them to budge on the request, then again, they were elites; such an attitude was expected of them. Begrudgingly, I complied. After they painstakingly searched every item in the bag nearly half an hour passed.

"Thank you, Satou-dono," She said. Then she turned towards the door and knocked. "Hime-sama, Satou-dono has returned with ingredients for food, may we let him in?"

A small voice replied from inside. "Yes, please do so!"

At the behest of the princess, I was let in. I half expected everyone to be sort of mad at me for taking so long, so I steeled myself for the explanation, but as I came in, everyone was watching Aqua perform her party tricks with faces full of surprise and merriment. Even Iris-chan was staring at the act with the same enthusiasm and awe-struck eyes that she had when I told her stories of my adventures.

"Amazing, Aqua-sama, amazing!" Iris said clapping loudly.

Aqua smiled proudly, giving short bows.

"How did she do that? I don't even think magic could replicate such a thing," Rain commented in bewilderment.

I sighed. Even though I found this goddess' ability to responsibly distribute her points lacking, I had to say, the few times I've actually seen Aqua using her party tricks has left a great impression on me…as much as I hated to admit.

Leaving the others to enjoy Aqua's performance, I walked out to the terrace where a large grill was at. Though I thought it would be primitive, I was wrong; it was comparable to grills back in Japan. In fact, this appeared to be very similar to the stove tops used for the food stalls around the various places throughout the kingdom.

After a couple of hours prepping and cooking everything, the food was done. When I walked in to tell everyone, they were playing cards which Aqua conveniently brought for her stupid tricks. Rain, on the other hand, was fast asleep on the chair she chose as her sleeping arrangement.

"Oi, food's ready," I said.

"One second, Kazuma," Megumin said, "it's just me and Iris now."

"I don't get it," Aqua complained, "why do I keep drawing the lowest possible numbers; someone's cheating here!"

"Megumin, I thought you said you had to draw pairs; how come you have just single numbers?" Darkness queried as she looked over Megumin's hand; it seems like they were playing poker.

I sighed as approached them. "Darkness, pairs are the second worst winning hand you can get."

"Ha, ha!" Megumin said, slamming her hand on the bed. "Straight! Let's see your hand Iris."

Iris, who was covering the bottom half of her face with the playing cards, dropped the cards lightly onto the bed. "Royal Flush."

"W-W-Wha—how?! Kazuma, how'd she get that?!" a panicked Megumin yelled.

I laughed. "That's some good luck you have Iris-chan, maybe me and you should play next; I'll absolutely win you in poker."

"Sure, Onii-sama, we have all night, after all," She replied with an innocent smile.

"Alright, let's eat."

"Kazuma," Darkness interjected, "the princess can't go out to the balcony during a time like this."

"Ah, I, I see," I said somewhat dejectedly.

"Lalatina, it should be alright with all of you here protecting me."

"T-That's right," I reaffirmed. "If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

Darkness looked at us dubiously, and then sighed. "Ok."

As the others tore into the food, Iris stared curiously at it. "What is this, Onii-sama?"

"Yakisoba, a special food from my home country."

"Yaki…soba?" Iris stared at it for a couple of seconds and then bit into it. As she chewed quizzically, a smile sprung up on her face. "Mmmm, thish ish sho gewd, Onii-shama."

I laughed heartily. "I'm glad you like it. Here, let me show you trick." I pulled out a piece of bread and slicing it in half, pressed some of the yakisoba into it. I handed it to Iris. "Yakisoba bread," I said.

She took it excitedly and bit into it without hesitation. "Onii-sama, this is so good; I never knew such a simple addition could make something taste so great."

"Alright, eat your fill; there's plenty to go around."

"Really?" Aqua said. "Then let me get seconds; I demand seconds as a tribute—as compensation for healing you and reviving you so much—it's the least you could do!"

"Oi, stop it, you idiot; that's for Iris-chan—you had enough!"

As Aqua and I struggled against each other, Iris laughed.

After dinner, Darkness and Aqua decided to tuck in early. Me, Megumin, and Iris stayed up playing poker; as expected, I won most of the times, Iris was close behind me in ranking, leaving Megumin to be at the bottom of the board; something she wasn't too keen on.

"Ah, that's enough of this game," Megumin complained.

"You're just upset cause you keep losing," I said.

"It-It's not that, it's just this game involves no skill, just luck; it caters to your strengths, Kazuma."

"Hey, stop making excuses; Poker is actually a game with an incredibly high skill ceiling, alright. Back in my country there would be regular tournaments with huge prize pools. In fact, I'm pretty sure Elroad has a similar game."

"Whatever, why don't we play Adventurer's Gambit."

"So what, you could just use Explosion—no way, **that** game is stupid."

"So a game I'm proficient at is suddenly stupid, but a game that relies on luck, isn't?"

Iris giggled as she saw us squabble.

"And what are you laughing at, Iris?" Megumin said.

"Nothing, Megumin-nee; I can tell you two are happy."

Megumin looked away slightly while I snorted in laughter.

"Maybe you need glasses, Iris-chan."

"Ah—just what aren't you happy about?! I'm the one who should be unhappy!"

"What are you talking about; you got a perfect, powerful, and rich man, how could you be unhappy?"

Iris giggled once more.

Megumin sighed, and then smiled. "No, you're right; there's nothing for me to be upset about. I'm tired so I'm going to sleep; don't stay up so late."

Her acceptance caught me off guard, but before I could question it, Megumin was already lying down on the couch with the blanket drawn over her shoulders.

"Uh…ahem—aren't **you** tired, Iris-chan?"

"Hmm, no, not yet."

"Well, is there anything you wanna do?"

"Hmm…" Iris pressed a finger to her chin. "Why don't we go outside?"

"Outside; that's a bit dangerous to do right now, no?"

Iris gave me a saddened look, one that was filled with disappointment; as her caring older brother I couldn't live seeing her so dejected.

I looked around at the others to make sure they were asleep; after confirming it to be the case, I whispered, "Ah, it's ok, we'll go out—but only for a little while, ok?"

Iris smiled brightly when I said this, nodding excitedly.

As we got up to head out from the balcony, I looked at Megumin closely, making doubly sure she was asleep.

"_Going by her relaxed breathing, I'm pretty sure she's actually asleep. Good. No one should know I was out with Iris then."_

I tiptoed my way past Rain and met up with Iris out on the terrace. To my amazement, she had already formed a makeshift rope using the tablecloth and some blankets.

"Come on, Onii-sama," She said as she climbed over the balcony's edge.

I ran over as she slid down, quickly looking to make sure she safely descended. When I did, she was already at the bottom. Iris looked up with a wide smile, waving at me to come down. I looked at the cloths turned rope and gave them a hard tug; they'd hold my weight.

I smiled as I vaulted over the railing; this reminded me of the time I broke into the castle with Chris. As I came to the bottom, I moved the line near the wall; the white marble, and the light of the full moon would do well to conceal the near-white blankets and tablecloth.

"Alright, let—" I cut myself off as my Enemy Detect went off; two entities, must be a patrol.

I quickly grabbed Iris and pulled her over to small hedge barrier nearby.

"Onii—"

I shushed her, pointing at the corner.

The two guards appeared.

"_Shit, this is bad, I hope they don't notice the rope…"_

I sat tensely waiting for the guards to go by. To our luck, they didn't. As I let out a breath of relief, Iris giggled quietly.

"Hey, that could've been really bad if they found us **or** the rope." Thinking about it, it was kind of worrying that these "elite" guards didn't notice the cord dangling down from the balcony.

"I know but isn't this exciting?" She said with a smile to match.

I grinned. "Hmm, it kinda is…"

After laughing to ourselves, Iris got up and tugging on my hand, said, "Onii-sama, I've got a secret place I wanna show you."

"Alright, alright, lead the way."

Dodging more patrols along the way, Iris led me into the back of the palace where a large hedge maze was. These sorts of things were very common—almost to the point of being clichéd; however, as we ran through the maze, Iris made an abrupt turn into a dead end.

"Uh oh, you lost your way, Iris-chan, don't worry, let Onii-chan—"

Seemingly ignoring what I was saying, Iris ducked down into the corner and crawled into a small opening disappearing completely.

"Oi, Iris, where'd you go," I whispered loudly. I ducked down and looked at the last spot I saw her. She quickly popped her head out, our faces mere centimeters apart. Of course, I was startled by the abruptness of her action and fell back.

She giggled once more. "Come on, Onii-sama, it's this way."

I got on my stomach and crawled through the branches. The passage was tight, and I almost got stuck; it was the perfect place for someone like Iris to escape to. Eventually, I made it out to the other side where Iris was waiting. Walking over to her as I brushed off the leaves all over me, Iris pointed. We somehow ended up in an underground cavern and were standing on a cliff overlooking a massive deposit of water.

It was beautiful and despite the depths of the pool, the water was a bright aqua-green.

"Wha, what is this place?" I asked, captivated by the magnificence of such scenery.

"This is where we draw our water from; it's the source of our healing baths. Supposedly it leads to a spring near Alcanretia."

No, this was likely the case; I've never seen water this pure outside of whatever Aqua purifies herself.

"If this is the water reservoir, doesn't that mean this place isn't very secret?" I posed.

Iris shook her head. "No one outside some very select people, Father, and Jatis onii-chan know about this place, and now you, Onii-sama." She smiled, turning my way as she mentioned me.

"_Right, keeping the knowledge of something this important tied down to a few people would make it fairly easy to identify anyone who might do something to it…"_

"Do you know why it's this color, Onii-sama?" She said.

"Uh, probably cause of how pure it is, right?"

She shook her head once again. "You're sort of right, but the water is dense in mana because the rocks that surround the reservoir are almost pure manatite. Since the water itself runs through passageways in the rock, the reservoir contains high levels of mana. Come on," She said, tugging on my hand once more.

"Whoa, wait, where are we going?" I said whilst being pulled along.

When we reached the edge of the pool, Iris let go of my hand and began to undress.

"Oi, oi, Iris-chan, what are you doing?" I said, looking away.

"I always wanted to swim in here," She replied.

"Are, are you sure that's a good idea; isn't this what you guys use for drinking water too?"

She giggled. "This water has a self-purifying effect, small amounts of contaminates are fine, Onii-sama, come."

I thought about how someone later on might be drinking Iris' bathwater. When I looked towards iris, she was in her underwear. The blue ribbon that was normally tied around her flowing white dress was now tied around her chest.

"_Oh man, if anyone saw this I'd be immediately executed." _Really, I could think of no way to talk my way out of this should someone see the scene before me.

I didn't really know why, but I felt extremely self-conscious about undressing in front of Iris; it wasn't like I was doing it in a perverted fashion with any lewd undertones. Iris-chan was my cute little sister who wanted to take a swim with me, her reliable older brother; there was nothing I should be ashamed about.

Telling myself this, I stripped down to my underwear and entered the water. It was really cold.

"Gah, this is…cold—aren't you cold, Iris-chan?"

"Hmm, nope," She answered as she frolicked in the water.

After a few moments my body became wrapped in a gentle warmth and all my fatigue and tenseness melted away; the effects were very similar to bathing in the royal baths. As I relaxed and laid back, Iris swam over to my side.

"Onii-sama…"

"Hmm?" I said, opening one eye. "What's up, Iris-chan?"

"Umm," Iris was squirming slightly in the water.

I quickly sat up. "Oi, do you have to use the bathroom?!"

"No, no!" she replied just as quickly. "I-I was wondering if Onii-sama…if Onii-sama could…wash me."

"…come again?"

"I-I was wondering if you could wash me, Onii-sama—the waters are purifying enough that running it over yourself would clean you; there'd be no need for things like…soap…" What started off as a rushed explanation, slowed into an embarrassed whisper.

I began to feel tense once again. "Ugh…well, s-sure, I can wash your back."

"Umu," Iris said; she looked just as nervous.

Both of us swam over to the edge where the water was shallower. Iris sat down in front of me and hugged her knees.

"Um"—I coughed loudly—"Just running the water over your back should be…fine, right?"

"Um-Um…it'd be…better if Onii-sama…scrubbed—a bit."

I breathed in deeply. _"Calm down, Satou Kazuma, there's nothing wrong with this, you haven't done anything questionable; your lovable little sister is simply asking you to wash her…there's nothing wrong with a request like this…right—of course not!"_

I dipped my hand into the water beside me and pressed the scooped water to Iris' back. She flinched, her shoulder twitching slightly. Her skin was soft and seemingly iridescent in the reflection of the mana-rich waters. As I continued to repeat my earlier actions, I stopped; for some reason, I felt guilty. I felt I was doing something wrong—but I wasn't; I wasn't doing anything questionable, just running water over Iris' back. Sure, she was several years younger than me, but I wasn't doing it in some weird lustful way. I was doing it with the same sentiments a father had washing his child daughter…even so, I still felt…guilty.

"Onii-sama?" Iris queried.

"Huh, oh, um…this should be enough, right?"

"Um…" She nodded.

"Alright, let's head back before anyone notices we're gone."

I got up. Iris did too, turning towards the pool's edge. In that moment, I froze; her clothes, being wet, clung tightly to her child body; the things the clothing was supposed to mask, freshly exposed. When Iris noticed what I was staring at, she ducked down and covered herself in embarrassment. I quickly averted my gaze.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to—I just sorta forgot—"

"It-It's…ok," she mumbled. "It's…fine…if Onii-sama…sees."

"_Wh-Wh-Whoa, what is this girl saying; there's no way something like this is ok!" _I briskly turned my back to her. "H-Hand me your clothing, I'll dry 'em with Tinder."

A couple seconds later, a hand reached past my shoulder; tightly knit in its grasp was a pair of frilly white panties and a long, blue-laced ribbon, both sopping wet.

I quickly set about drying them with Tinder; since the mana was dense in the cavern, I didn't have to worry about running out of any. After several minutes of this, both of our clothing was dry. I reached my hand over my shoulder, handing Iris her clothing back. She took it meekly from my hands and after another couple minutes walked over my side.

"All-All done…Onii…sama." Even in the blue-green glow of the cavern, I could see Iris' deeply flushed face.

I had already finished putting on my own clothes, so when she came over to me, we were ready to head back. We retraced our path back to the rope. Maybe due to my luck, there were no guards we had to evade on our way back.


	6. Chapter 5: The Next Steps

**Chapter 5: The Next Steps**

**Part 1**

When I woke up the next day, my arms were hurting from climbing the rope. In the days following, the atmosphere between me and Iris became a bit awkward—we would still play and talk, but I would often find her avoiding my gaze and blushing; it would become very troublesome if this girl were to develop feelings for me at such a young age. If she were a couple years older, I wouldn't mind, maybe I would even prefer her over Megumin, but at this juncture I couldn't really muster any such feelings for her; I really did see her as a younger sister, despite what the others may have thought.

Adding to this odd atmosphere was the fact that Megumin also avoided me. She would talk to me when it was warranted, but other than that she didn't really seek me out or show me any affection; maybe she figured something happened between me and Iris while she was asleep. I thought about telling her what happened, but in the end, I convinced myself otherwise; I didn't need Megumin going yandere mode and blowing up the entire palace.

Martial law went on for another two days which meant we stayed at the palace (and in Iris' room) for the same amount of days. The morning after the state of emergency ended, we packed up and were ready to head back to Axel.

"O-Onii-sama, t-thank you for staying…so long."

I chuckled. "Don't mention it; you know I don't mind staying around you, Iris-chan."

She twiddled her fingers, then played with the ring I bought her so long ago. "O, Onii-sama, please don't wait too long to visit again, ok?"

"Uh, sure."

When I turned around, I caught Megumin staring between us with a serious expression; however, when her eyes met my own, they narrowed slightly. She whipped around and walked off.

"Goodbye, Iris-chan," Aqua said, waving happily. "I'll show you some more of my acts when I come back; all I ask is that you treat me to some of that restricted wine royalty drinks, ok?"

"Aqua, stop asking for ridiculous compensation," Darkness said with a frown. "Goodbye, Iris-sama; thank you for your hospitality."

"No, no, Lalatina, thank you for protecting me; truly whenever you're around, I'm reminded why you're our kingdom's shield."

Darkness bowed and all of us left. On the way down the corridor, we met Rain who was on her way to teach Iris her morning lessons; after a brief goodbye, we continued towards the teleport station.

When we came out into the courtyard in front of the palace, I saw Megumin seated on one of the benches, looking up at the sky.

Darkness walked over to my side as we started to approach her. "Kazuma, what's wrong with Megumin, did you two get into a fight?"

I shrugged. "I don't know; she's probably just jealous of Iris again. She'll get over it."

"Stop being so inconsiderate, go speak with her."

"She's the one being inconsiderate; she won't even tell me what's going on with her—I'm not a diviner, I can't tell what she's—" I looked down at my ring briefly; then I realized I needed to touch her ring as well in order for the mind-reading effect to take place. "Don't worry about it; if it's serious enough she'll bring it up, if not, it'll blow over," I said to Darkness.

"Stop being such a coward, Kazuma; I'm sure she's waiting for you—"

"Then why don't you go ask her! Stop bothering me." I pulled away from her and continued past Megumin.

"Kazuma," I heard her call out.

"What's wrong?" I said, stopping and turning towards her.

Megumin got up and walked over to me. "What happened that night I fell asleep early?"

I felt my mouth dry up suddenly. _"Calm yourself, Kazuma, she's just asking a simple question; don't give yourself away by acting stupid. _N—"

She quickly pressed her finger to the underside of my chin. "Wait," She said.

"W-Wait for what?"

"This isn't the place to have such a conversation."

"Oi, what the hell do you think I did?" Megumin stared at me with unflinchingly. I looked away. "Nothing—"

"I said this isn't the place; we'll have this conversation at home," She interrupted.

I looked at her in disbelief. Did she just give me a stern talking to…who did this loli think she was?

"Oi, I don't know what's got you so worked up, but you need to relax."

"You don't? Really…pfft…unbelievable…" Megumin distanced herself, walking ahead once more.

Upon our arrival back at the mansion, Aqua went to take a morning bath while Darkness was busy talking with Irene. In order to avoid the pending conversation between me and Megumin, I sat in the living room and began playing with Chomusuke. As if she knew this, the inconsiderate owner came over and snatched her away from me.

"Oi, what are—"

"Stop trying to avoid responsibility; we need to talk, Kazuma," Megumin said with a frown.

I sighed. "What about; I already told you nothing happened—"

Megumin tugged on my arm. "Upstairs…please," She said with a gentler tone.

I frowned at her proficient use of tenderness; even though I knew she was giving me a sweet tone to get me to do what she wanted, I still followed.

As I came into my room, I laid down on the bed. Megumin let Chomusuke go, shooing her away, and locked the door.

Before she could question me, I began," I already said nothing—"

"Is that really what you're gonna say…nothing happened."

I sat up slowly, gulping silently. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying, what happened after I fell asleep; what did you guys end up doing?"

"Nothing, are you serious? Why do you guys keep acting like I have weird feelings for Iris-chan, she's just—"

"A little sister to you? Is that what you want…a little sister…for you to do perverted stuff with—really, Kazuma, you're—"

"Oi, oi, hold on! I don't know what you think happened, but let me start by saying I just want a little sister to fawn over, ok? Not to have some weird relationship with."

"So then, why is it so hard for you to answer the question; what happened?"

"Well…me and Iris just went outside."

Megumin stared at me. "And?"

"And what?"

"Exactly, and what; what did you guys do after you went out?"

I frowned. "We walked around a bit, avoided guards and stuff, went out the hedge maze in the back of the castle—why are so worried about what I did with Iris-chan; don't tell me you're jealous again?"

Megumin crossed her arms. "Really, Kazuma, do you really believe I'd get jealous over such trivial things now?"

"That's exactly what you're doing."

Seemingly ignoring my response, Megumin continued. "Ok, so after you went to the hedge maze, what did you do there?"

"Nothing, we just explored the maze—is this an interrogation, why do I feel like you're interrogating me?"

"Only guilty people feel that way," She replied curtly. "Now go on, you explored the maze together with Iris, and then what?"

"Let me just stop you right there, maybe save some time for the both of us; I didn't do anything to Iris-chan. I didn't kiss her, and I certainly didn't do anything you think—"

"But did you touch her?"

I froze. I knew it wasn't the way Megumin must've been thinking about, but I **did** touch her in a…not normal way.

"You touched her."

"N-Not the way you're thinking!" I sighed heavily. "Look, me and Iris went to the castle's water reservoir and…"

"And?"

"And we…we…we swam around a bit."

"And?"

Really what the hell, was she just pressing me for answers, or did she actually know something? "And we—" I shook my head. "How much do you know, just spit it out already; or are you just messing with me?!"

Megumin placed her hands on her hips and smirked. "I saw everything."

"_This little…_You mean you were stalking me._"_ In hindsight, there were a couple clues showing this to be the case, not least of them being the slightly different position of the rope.

"Stalking you; did Kazuma forget what I am to him? Humph, that's right, I saw you rubbing your hands all over her back like some sort of miscreant; if I told this to Darkness, she'd break you in half. Luckily, I'm the only one who knows; so now you owe me **two** favors."

I began laughing; this sly bitch. "First, you stalk me, now, you're blackmailing me?! And what do you mean **two **favors?"

"I wasn't stalking you! I-I followed because I was worried about my underling! If you happened to do something with her, I would've cut it off right there! And don't tell me you've forgotten what you did; you made fun of me—of my figure!" Megumin pounced on me, straddling my waist. "If you're so caught up with Iris…I wonder," She said.

She leaned forward slowly.

"Oi, Megumin, what are you—"

She moved past my face and stopped by my ear, whispering in a highly seductive tone. "Can you play with me, Onii-chan?"

"Ahhhh, no!" I yelled, covering her mouth.

Megumin, startled by my shout and the reaction of my bottom half, let out a muffled yell herself.

"W-W-What do you think you're doing?! Don't taint the beautiful words I envision my little sister, Iris-chan say! I already told you you're not the little sister type!"

Megumin pulled my hands away revealing the boisterous smirk she wore. "Oh, but something certainly seems to like the way I say, O-nii-chan."

She giggled as I scrambled to cover my ears. "Stop, stop, I won't ever be able to face Iris-chan if you don't."

"Ohhh?"

"Don't you dare!" I yelled. "I'll drain you every day for two months if you do—don't think I won't!"

Megumin sighed. "Fine…I like being the wife of Satou Kazuma better," She said, playing with the ring on her finger.

I gave a restrained smirk.

Megumin leaned forward once again, this time pressing her lips to mine, kissing me deeply. After a few seconds, she pulled away.

"Oi, Megumin, if you keep rewarding me for things like this, I might start doing them on purpose."

"Who said anything about this being a reward for **you**?"

I scoffed. "Bullshit, this isn't enough to satisfy you."

She sat back onto my legs. "Oh, so now you know what's enough to satisfy me?"

I restrained my chuckle, letting out a huff.

She slid herself onto my hips; naturally, my body gave her an appropriate response.

Megumin let out a slow breath, then she leaned in again, wrapping her arms around the back of my neck and kissing me.

After a couple of moments, I moved my face slightly aside. "Megumin," I said, my breaths becoming deep.

With her eyes glowing, she smirked deviously. "I told you this wasn't a reward for you, right?"

She pressed forward once more, cutting off my verbal response. Moments later, our lips separated, but our heavy pants still skimmed their surface.

"Oi…Megumin, there's only so much I can take—let's call it here."

She smirked once more, tenderly passing her thumb over my lips, and then laid her head on my shoulder. I began to relax, when I felt her hips move; her lower body grinding roughly on my pants. I winced from the pleasure, gritting my teeth as I held back the impending feeling of release.

Despite, being the one who initiated this, Megumin was also losing herself to the feeling; I could hear her heavy panting in my ear, feel her heavy breaths on the side of my neck.

"_Dammit, this girl…at this rate…" _I groaned as I grasped Megumin's bottom and pressed her into me.

"Kazuma," She whined, arching her back slightly.

"Dammit!" I threw onto her back and kissed her, Megumin wrapped her arms the back of my neck, I could feel her tongue twist deeper into my mouth.

Finally, I pulled away with a gasp. "Wait, wait, god…"

She tugged on my belt.

"Wait, stop, Megumin," I said through labored breaths, grabbing her hands.

"How long has it been, Kazuma?"

"What?"

"My Explosions, how long has it been, how long have I gone without one?"

"Really?"

"It's either one or the other…though I don't really mind which."

"Oh, so I'm just a substitute, that it?"

She pulled me back down and kissed me sensually. "Only because you never give me the full course."

"…" I couldn't really hold myself back much more; the restraint I had was becoming razor thin. "Who, who taught you all this?" I suddenly asked; I was so curious to know that I unknowingly shared my thought.

"Taught?" Megumin said with a confused expression. "What do you mean, I've just been doing what comes naturally to me."

"R-Really?"

"Well, I mean, I **have ** read some romance novels and some of the books that Aqua's lent me, but other than that…well, even those things don't really go into too much detail. W-Why, is what I do…odd or—"

"N-No, I'm just…surprised, I don't…I'm really surprised."

Megumin looked away slightly, a meek smile plastered on her face.

"Oi, Megumin, if we keep going any longer, I'm probably gonna…"

"Explode?"

"Well, yeah, but…I…I probably won't be able to hold myself back anymore so…"

"Oh, that so?"

"L-Look, don't…" I sat up and sighed deeply.

Megumin sat up as well and pressed a finger to my lips. "Don't worry, I won't force you; I can wait."

"Gah, every time you say that it feels weird; I feel like **I** should be the one saying that to you, not the other way around. Why do you have to be so assertive?"

Megumin giggled. "Does it bother you?"

"No, to be honest, it's a huge turn on."

Megumin's eyes widened in surprise; her face turning red in turn.

"Whoa, wait, are you really surprised about that? I thought you knew."

"I-I had an idea, but to hear you…say it…it's different."

"Geez," I said, placing my hand on Megumin's head, "you could be so unpredictable, you know? One moment you're the one taking lead, the next you become so timid and apprehensive; I really don't know how to deal with you."

She threw her head into my chest and hugged me. "Hahhh," She sighed. "Guess I'll just have to find some way to get rid of all this tension."

"Oi."

She giggled. "Don't worry, I'll go out with Aqua and Darkness to do my daily."

"Can you really call it a daily; you've been skimping out on them lately."

Megumin leaned back and smiled proudly. "I've been learning restraint thanks to someone."

"Hey, I appreciate you praising me, but let's be real, I'm not exactly known for a restrained personality."

"No one said, it's perfect, but even a little bit is something, right?"

"I guess."

She hugged me once more. "…I love you, Kazuma."

"Umu, me too, Megumin. Now hurry up and go, I need to deal with my own 'explosion' as well."

Megumin smiled, and then, after unlocking the door, left.

Afterwards, I went out with Aqua and Darkness as planned. When I finished casting my Explosion for the day, we returned to the mansion. Irene, who was making lunch, told me (when I didn't see him around) that Kazuma had gone out; he likely went to that café. Because he wasn't around, I was forced to recuperate on my own which meant spending the majority of the time lying on the couch in the living room.

A few hours after we had lunch, Kazuma returned; though he was all smiles, he appeared fairly tired. Seeing Kazuma in such a state, Aqua began pestering him; saying things like, 'why are you making such a gross expression?' and 'why do I smell demonic traces?'. Seems like my assumption was correct. I knew what type of "café" that was and could only hazard a guess as to what type of "services" Kazuma was getting.

"Oi, shut up, you're gonna ruin my mood, ok?" Kazuma said with a scowl.

"I don't want you bringing evil things into this house, ok? I work hard to keep this place free of evil spirits and the like—it's bad enough having that devil come around every so often!"

Kazuma laughed. "Did I hear something about working hard? Please, the couch you lounge on works harder than you. Now outta my way, Imma turn in early."

As Kazuma walked away, I called out to Aqua; she came over, still wearing a frown she gave Kazuma.

"Hmm, what's wrong, Megumin?"

"Can you please carry me to my room; I'm still weak."

She let out a sigh and flicked her hair back pompously. "Alright, if you insist. Though you should really start thinking of some way to repay my kindness, Megumin; my birthday is coming up after all."

Indeed, Aqua's "birthday" was only a few weeks away.

"Uh, sure; I'll get you something appropriate."

"Ah, thanks, Megumin; if only that bum Kazuma could be as considerate as you."

I smiled faintly; such classic Aqua.

The next few days went by without anything of note happening. Kazuma continued spending his time tinkering and occasionally going out, Aqua went out to do the various things she did, and Darkness was preoccupied helping out at the school and the occasional assistance with lordship duties.

I, however, focused myself on studying various things; cooking, Japanese, advance magic theory. Of course, my daily Explosion was something I did if Kazuma was able to accompany me; I didn't want to spend most of my time recuperating so I even bought a few manatite crystals for this purpose.

Speaking of which, since the manatite supplies started to come in, Vanir ended up giving me a large discount; the devil tried to get me to put it on Kazuma's tab, but since I had money of my own, I didn't feel the need to trouble Kazuma with my burden.

"Oof." Kazuma dropped me on the couch and then plopped down beside me.

"Why didn't you use another manatite crystal?" He asked.

I rolled over onto my back. "Cause they're expensive. Anyways, if you're so concerned about me walking back why didn't you just use Drain Touch to give me some mana?"

He frowned. "Next time I'll just leave you there."

There was a knock at the door. Kazuma looked at me.

"Why're you looking at me, I can't even move."

He sighed. "Alright, just stay quiet, maybe they'll leave."

"I can hear you in there, Kazuma-dono!" It was the voice of Iris' instructor/bodyguard, Rain.

"Go away," Kazuma replied. "I'm not taking any other jobs; I'm tired and I wanna rest after everything I've gone through."

"_This man…_Rain-san, you can come in, the door isn't locked," I announced.

Kazuma glared at me, but I looked away with a negligent expression. Rain entered; another person, wrapped in a robe covering their body, was alongside her.

"Uh, why are you here and who's this?" Kazuma said with a mix of irritation and curiosity.

Rain merely nodded at the figure beside her and the person removed their hood; it was the shop attendant, Gren.

"Sorry, but that mansion is at capacity; I'm not taking any other problem children," Kazuma said, waving both of them off.

"I hope I'm not included in those problem children," I remarked with some anger.

"No, Kazuma-dono, you misunderstand, I didn't come to drop Gren-san off with you; I merely brought her so you could introduce her to Vanir-dono."

"Vanir?" both me and Kazuma said.

"Umu. As per Iris-sama's judgement, Gren-san has been banished from the capital; she instructed me to ask you to introduce her to Vanir-dono."

"Banished, huh," Kazuma said, scratching his head. "Well, it's better than dying." He sighed as he got to his feet. "If it's a request from my precious little sister, there's no way I can refuse."

Rain and I frowned at this impertinent man.

At this moment, the girl, Gren, stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Thank you for helping me." She then, still looking down at the floor, said, "Forgive me for my imposition, but I humbly ask that you continue to do your best to help find my sister." At this remark, she quickly lifted her head with desperation in her eyes. "I-I will of course do my utmost to aid you in any possible way!"

Kazuma lifted a brow, and then looked my way; was he expecting my input?

"U-Um, of course, Gren-san; if we find anything pertaining to your little sister, we'll do our very best to follow up on it," I said.

She bowed again. "I'm most grateful for your kindness."

Then this man said, "Being grateful is all good and well, but how are you gonna repay us for our efforts?"

Even Rain look at him in disbelief; the girl, Gren, however, looked unfazed.

"Satou-sama, I will do **anything** you ask of me should you find my sister."

"Humph," Kazuma replied. "I'll hold you to that."

Rain cleared her throat loudly. "Also, Kazuma-dono, there's the reward from the Royal Provision and also the bounty from the capture of a Demon King General."

"Oh? Even if he escaped?"

Rain sighed. "The escape was negligence on our part. Anyhow, I forwarded the money to the guild staff here, so just go over and claim it."

"How much was it?"

"Excuse me?"

"How much was it, the amount?"

"I-I don't know; I wasn't told. I was simply given it to transport over here."

"Oh? Can't be helped then. Anyways, is that all?"

"There's also this," Rain said, handing him an envelope.

"What's this; why not tell me since you're here already?"

"The letter inside is a document meant for verification purposes."

"Verification…for what?" Kazuma said, glancing at the envelope, then back at Rain.

Rain sighed heavily; she looked like she was deeply regretting what she was about to say. Placing a hand to her forehead, she said, "It's for your family crest."

"Family…" As if he suddenly understood what she said, Kazuma yelled excitedly. "Family crest; like the one Darkness and Claire have?!"

Rain looked away with dead-fish eyes. "Yes…"

"Haha, you hear that, Megumin; we'll finally get necklaces with insignia on 'em; no need to have to steal—I mean borrow Darkness' anymore."

I gave him a deadpan stare. Well, on one hand it does mean we won't have to burden Darkness with our selfish requests anymore.

At that moment, Aqua came back with Irene.

"Alright, Aqua-sama, I'll go draw—oh, we have guests. Welcome, guests, is there anything I can get you?"

"Don't bother," Kazuma said, "they won't be here long."

As he said this, I felt Kazuma was being a bigger scumbag than usual; really, why did I fall for such a guy?

"Ah, Gren-san," Aqua said, waving at her.

Gren, in return, quickly threw herself to the ground, prostrating before Aqua. "Archpriest-sama, Lady Aqua, I am forever indebted to you; thank you for saving my life!"

"Oi, Gren-san," Kazuma said with arms folded, "careful, that girl you're being so reverent to is an Axis Cultist."

"So what if I am?! And why are you saying it like it's a bad thing?!"

Me, Rain and Kazuma all averted her glowering stare.

Irene coughed. "Since the guests won't be needing any assistance, I'll go prepare your bath, Aqua-sama." She then turned to me. "Megumin-sama will be taking a bath on her own or…"

"_On my own or…_uh—oh, t-that's right." I cleared my throat loudly. "I-I'll take one on my own."

Irene gave a bow and walked off with Aqua following. Looking at Kazuma, he seemed a little frustrated that Irene didn't ask for his preferences, but simply scoffed lightly.

"I suppose I'll be off then," Rain said. "Goodbye, Kazuma-dono, Megumin-dono." She gave a slight bow, and then walked off through the front.

After Rain left, Kazuma sighed. "Guess, it didn't turn out how we expected it to, huh?" He said, looking somewhat disappointedly at Gren.

She shook her head in response. "It's better than I expected…than I deserve. Sure, I won't be able to see Master Holt anymore, but…"

"But at least you're still alive…maybe in time some things can be forgiven altogether."

"Not to mention," I interposed, "you'll still be able to see your sister."

Gren smiled faintly. "I would hope so."

She didn't say it—she didn't need to say it; we were all aware of the possibility that perhaps there was no chance she would ever see her sister.

"Hey," Kazuma said as he glanced over at me, "I'm gonna take Gren to Wiz's; in the meantime, why don't you draw a design for the family insignia and while you're at it, ask the other two for some input."

I smiled. "I'm surprised."

He raised a brow as he got up. "About?"

"That you would include all of us for something like this; I sort of expected you to do it all yourself."

"I'm kinda hurt that you'd think I'd be so crass as to handle something this important myself. Megumin, this is our family crest; Darkness may not officially be a part of this family, but she's definitely earned a place here."

Kazuma started towards the door with Gren in tow.

"And Aqua?"

"What about Aqua?"

"She's part of the family too, right?"

"…isn't that something we can change while we're there? Maybe I could demote her to servant of the family or something."

I stared at him disapprovingly, and then smiled once more. "It's her birthday soon; don't be so mean."

He waved off the mention as he walked out.

**Part 2**

"Thank you, Satou-sama," Gren said, bowing her head as we walked.

"Kazuma's fine. And if I'm honest, I didn't think we'd be able to do much to help you. The one you should really be thanking is Iris."

"I've already thanked her for everything; however, words are just words; while I don't think I could ever repay her kindness, I'll continue to find a way to do so in the way I choose to live."

After she said this, we both went quiet while we walked, then after a few minutes, she spoke once more.

"In a way…banishment was the most just outcome; it's both, a mercy and a punishment."

Indeed, though someone's life was disrupted with such a verdict, I was once again impressed by the judgement of my sweet little sister, Iris.

"Um, Kazuma-sama, how is this…Vanir person?"

"Vanir?" I rubbed my chin. "He isn't too bad. That being said, the only behavior I've seen him display towards his employees is something like a slave driver—no, that's not right—he **is** a slave driver."

Gren looked down despondently. It wasn't a sadness that came from fear or apprehension, rather, one that seem to stem from a sense something forlorn.

"Hey," I said, glancing over at her, "don't worry; I don't believe he'll treat you that way. He only treats the store owner like that."

Gren looked up at me in perplexity.

"Speaking of which," I continued, "the store owner's name is Wiz. She's a sweet girl so she'll treat you well."

"Ah, I, I see," Gren replied tentatively.

"Oi, Gren-san," I said in a slightly more serious demeanor, "if you hadn't saved Iris back there, I probably wouldn't have cared what would've happened to you after the trial."

Though I expected her to look at me with disdain, she didn't; she stared back at me with indifference as if the remark I just made wasn't pertaining to her at all.

I continued. "Don't get me wrong, I know why you did it—and I can't say I don't sympathize with you in some capacity, but if Iris-chan was hurt because of what you did I'd probably let them go ahead with the execution."

She smiled weakly. "You seem to really care about the Princess, Kazuma-sama."

"I do, she's like a sister to me."

"…the things we do for the ones we love, right?"

"…anyways, we're here."

I opened the door and entered the shop with Gren. Oddly enough, there was no immediate greeting as was common. Instead, I found both Vanir and Wiz huddled over various boxes; Vanir, himself, was holding up a large near-translucent crystal in his hands, eyeing it in appraisal.

"This one is near-perfect as well," He said, tossing it into the box near Wiz.

Wiz looked up and saw me and Gren standing quietly by the door.

"Ah!" she yelled, shooting up and immediately bowing. "K-Kazuma-san, I'm so sorry; I didn't notice you coming in!"

Vanir glanced my way, but otherwise kept looking at the other crystal he had in his hands.

"Don't worry about it, Wiz," I said, trying to calm her. "Yo, Vanir, that's the manatite?"

Finally, he turned his attention to me and with a devilish smile said, "Indeed, this is the delivery of manatite from the Demon King's castle; however," he continued, "moi sees thou has brought me something interesting; who might you be, young maiden?"

I didn't really know why Vanir was playing like he didn't know why I was here or who I was with, but I figured it was just "one of those things" he did to satiate the boredom of being a long-lived devil.

"Gren, I'm Gren Hallowitz." She gave a courteous bow. "You must be Vanir-san"—she turned towards Wiz—"and you Wiz-san."

"Mhm, very good, moi sees the brat here has told thou about us. Boy," Vanir said as he shifted his attention, "how was thou's special time with the chirimen's daughter?"

Gren stared at me with shock and embarrassment.

"Oi, don't spout stuff that can't be misinterpreted!"

Vanir laughed haughtily. "Mmmm, two for the price of one; please, continue living such an embarrassing life."

"_This piece of…_anyhow, she's here as a favor from Iris. I don't exactly know what you want her to do here, but I suppose she'll be working for you, right?"

"Hmm"—Vanir rubbed his chin—"more help is appreciated. Yes, since moi is primarily preoccupied watching over this foolish shop owner, having more hands to do errands outside will be most beneficial."

"More hands?" Then I remembered that Yunyun occasionally helped out around the store—mostly doing trivial tasks for Vanir; maybe that girl will find a friend in Gren—no, it's Yunyun, she'll definitely agree to it if Gren poses the question. "Alright, my part here is done; I'll be off. See ya," I said as I headed back out.

"Ka-Kazuma-sama!" Gren yelled. I stopped and turned to look at her. "Thank you again," She said, bowing deeply.

"…umu, but don't you think it's a bit too early to thank me? I **did **say I was gonna get your sister back, right?"

Gren looked up in surprise, and then smiled coyly. "Please do, Kazuma-sama; my promise to reward you still stands."

"…"

I left the store without another word. If I was honest, I didn't really want anything from her. Gren was pretty good looking, sure, but I felt if I asked for something like that it would be an irredeemably scummy move from multiple points. As for her sister, there was still no word on her whereabouts. A couple of days ago, I came to the shop to ask the devil gifted with foresight for a hint as to her location and condition.

I initially believed locating her would be easy if I asked Vanir, but when I did, he simply told me there was little for him to benefit from doing so. Of course, I pressed him for answers and even offered to pay him an exorbitant sum of cash, but even with this, he went on to tell me because there was so little information to go on, he couldn't really get a grasp on where to even start focusing his powers of foresight on.

Since the manatite deposits came in, it meant that in a few days' time I would receive the sum for the sales. I smiled at the thought of finally having a reliable source of income. As I walked through the streets, I stopped at the road leading back to the mansion; I tasked Megumin with coming up with some design for our House insignia, if I went back now it was likely she would still be working on it. With this thought, I decided to head to the guild for a couple of drinks and some food, maybe even visit the wonderful onee-sans at the café a little later.

Upon my arrival, I was hailed over by none other than Axel's resident delinquent, Dust.

"Yo, Dust," I said, taking a seat in front of him.

"Oh, Kazuma," someone else said from behind me. I looked back to see it was Keith; in his hands were two pairs of mugs frothed high with beer.

"Keith."

He took a seat beside Dust, and after he grabbed his own, placed the remaining mugs in the center of the table. Dust promptly took two.

"What brings you to the guild today, oh great, Satou-sama," Keith teased.

I waved him off. "Please don't do that; I'd rather hear it from a pretty girl."

He let out a quick laugh and took a sip from his beer.

"Kazuma needs to be more careful now though," Dust said, putting down an empty mug. "Since he's married to that firecracker mage of his we're all in peril if he gets caught being fawned over by some beautiful girls."

As much as I wanted to laugh off that comment, I felt that, at heart, there was some truth to it.

"Eh, doesn't matter," I said with a smirk, "I get to be fawned over by all the girls and much more in **those** dreams."

The two comrades in front of me both smiled.

"Say, I'm feeling quite generous today, so I don't mind treating you guys."

"Oh?!" Dust said. "Really, Kazuma, you're the most reliable and best friend a guy can have." He quickly slapped his hand down on the table and whistled at one of the barmaids. "Oi, can we get some service here?!"

I shrunk a bit at Dust's embarrassing behavior; Keith, on the other hand, remained calm…seems he was completely used to Dust's rudeness.

"What is it?" the barmaid who came over said. She had her hands on her hips and her brow was knit in response to Dust's uncouth attitude. "Are you actually going to pay for your food and drinks this time?!"

"Hey, you're in the presence Axel's most notable adventurers; is this how you treat your most valued guests? I'm gonna file a complaint saying that the service is too slow and the attendants here are completely rude."

This guy…

The onee-san merely rolled her eyes and began to take our orders. As we waited, Keith knocked his mug lightly on the remaining one in the center.

"Drink," he said, "if I let you handle everything, I'd feel pretty bad; I'm not as shameless as this guy here," He said, grinning at Dust.

Dust grinned back as he cleaned out his ears with his finger.

I gave a light smile and grabbed the last mug.

"So," Dust began, "how's everything going with those girls?"

"Umu?" I placed the mug down. "Same as always; I have a feeling those girls are incapable of learning."

Dust chuckled. "They're pretty terrible."

I laughed. "Yeah…but not they're not bad company…how about you guys? Taylor and Lin?"

Keith answered. "Taylor took a simple quest to boost his shield proficiency and Lin went…shopping…I think."

"Yeah, she did," Dust replied, resting his head on his palm. "I told her I wanted to accompany her just in case there were some questionable guys who'd try and peek on her while she was trying out some clothes."

Me and Keith exchanged looks.

"I take it she didn't accept," I said.

"She went on about how I was the most dangerous person around; that girl, I just wanted to make sure she was ok."

"Hey, Dust, I never really asked, but you really like Lin, right?"

"What are you talking about, Kazuma? It's not like that between me and Lin; I just honestly worry about her, ya know?"

I looked at Keith who seemed to be quietly drinking; he gave me an unassuming glance, but otherwise did nothing. I shrugged; it wasn't really my business anyways.

A couple minutes later, the first of our order arrived and no sooner than it did, Dust began tearing into the food while simultaneously downing as much drink as he could; it was honestly pretty impressive that he could so. After several more minutes of this, the second half came; by this time, Dust was beginning to sway from drunkenness.

"Oi, Kazuma," he said in an oddly serious voice, "what's up; how come you haven't had any drinks?"

"Ah, well—"

"Oh, I see," Dust replied with a sneer, "planning on visiting the café after this?"

Sometimes I was amazed at how perceptive Dust could be—especially given his current condition.

I cleared my throat. "You know we have a duty to those onee-sans who work tirelessly for our benefit; why would I purposefully skimp out on my obligations to them just for the fleeting feelings of being drunk?"

"Umu, umu, well said. After I inevitably void myself of all this later on, I'll be sure to pay them a visit in apology. Keith, you'll spot me, right?"

Keith sighed. "Drinks **and** the café? Really, Dust, sometimes I feel hurt by how much you use me; still, as a brother-in-arms, I can't refuse."

Dust grinned. "Really, I think the goddess Eris has blessed me with fine friends such as yourselves."

"You really shouldn't say such things in your state," I said.

Several more minutes went by with us drinking, laughing, and eating. As things were beginning to wind down, Dust, in a drunken stupor, asked me a question.

"Oi, Kazuma," He said, leaning in.

"Yeah?"

"You, you and the loli mage are married now, right?"

"Um, erm, yeah—you know this, what's up, Dust?"

"Well, I mean, if you married her, you like her, right?"

"…yeah, I guess—where are you going with this?"

He waved off my increasing worry. "I mean, if you married her and you like her, you're attracted to her…right?"

Both me and Keith looked at each other before looking back at Dust.

"…yeah, sure, so?"

"So…if you're married, and you like her, and you're attracted to her…have you guys…you know…"

Oh, now I see where he was going with this. "Uh, well…"

Keith smoothly interjected. "Aye, Dust, though I'm pretty curious as well; it's not really our business, you know? I bet Kazuma has already indulged in his fantasies plenty of times." He shifted his attention to me. "I hear that girl is pretty head-over-heels for you."

"Well of course, I frequently have to turn down her advances; sometimes it's too much."

Technically, I wasn't lying. And the effect of such a statement was better than I anticipated.

"Ha! I knew it!" Dust shouted. "Kazuma's a man!"

"R-Really?" Keith said in astonishment.

"Umu, I even had to repel Darkness on a number of occasions—you know on the account of being a faithful man."

Dust sat back with a smirk on his face. "Damn, Kazuma, I'm jealous; even though I know those girls are a handful, they're still easy on the eyes. To think you have them nipping at your heels."

"What can I say; I mean, we **have** been living under the same roof for nearly two years now."

"Umu, would be a little odd if nothing happened between you guys," Keith said trivially.

"…" I laughed nervously. "Yeah. B-But then, couldn't the same be said for you guys and Lin?"

Keith and Dust looked at each other and then returned the attention to me. "It's a bit different," Dust said, shaking his head. "Kazuma, whether or not those girls' personalities are rotten, they're still girls—"

"And you're the only guy," Keith interjected.

"It's a harem party no matter how you look at it."

"And me and Taylor have no romantic interest in Lin; don't know about this guy though."

Dust shoved Keith lightly.

Feeling that things could probably go awry should this line of conversation continue, I decided to get away while I could. "Ahem, well, I better get going, don't want to miss out on the lunch special of the café."

"Right, right, well then, Kazuma, it's been fun," Keith said. "Thanks for the food and drinks."

"Sure, give my regards to the others."

"And don't be a stranger," Dust remarked. "You know I'm here most of the time, treat me some more; you're rich and famous now."

"_This guy…_hey, you guys were at the award ceremony; I seem to recall you guys getting a pretty substantial reward, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Keith said. "I still have some left, Taylor does too, and Lin's out shopping because of it. The only one whose gone through the entire sum was this guy; didn't even take him a day."

Dust frowned. "Money is meant to be spent; it has no other uses. I've done my part while you guys are hoarding your assets like it'll go with you when you pass. Let me tell you something, when I met the goddess Eris, she was practically crying tears of joy of how I chose to live my life."

No, I'm pretty sure Eris-sama wouldn't be crying tears of joy at such a decadent lifestyle; if anything, I'm sure she'd be appalled. Really, this man was basically Aqua in terms of life philosophies.

Keith scoffed. "Please Dust, the biggest tell that your story is a lie is the fact that you're saying you met the goddess Eris; you're definitely going to Hell when you pass."

The both of them laughed.

_**-Near evening…**_

As I returned home, I was set upon Megumin.

"Kazuma, Kazuma, look," She said, holding up a piece of paper to my face.

I grabbed it and after looking at it for a couple of seconds, sighed. _"Why am I not surprised."_

The paper in question was the planned insignia courtesy of all the problem children of this house. The background was a large explosion cloud overlaid with a large knightly shield with the Axis Cult's emblem in the center. The pièce de résistance was the Japanese kanji for "Explosion" placed over the top of everything.

"What do you think people would say if I showed them this?" I said rather calmly.

Megumin's beaming smile slowly faded into a confused expression. "Wha-What do you mean?"

"They would think I was joking with them and that I was impersonating a noble. Listen, on top of the many questionable design choices, I see nothing that could denote my own accomplishments on here."

"W-What are you talking about, Kazuma?" Megumin said, snatching the sheet from my hand. "The kanji!" She said, desperately pointing to it.

Probably because I just came back from that shop, I didn't really feel like getting angry. I patted Megumin on the head.

"Good effort," I said, placing my hands on her shoulders.

"S-Stop!" She shouted. "W-Why are you looking at me with such pitiful eyes?"

I frowned. "Look, I'll handle the main features and see about incorporating whatever I can from…this." I looked at the current design with contempt.

"Hey, you seem to have an issue with the design I made; what is it, why don't you tell me, huh?!"

"Are you dumb; this whole thing's a mess. It looks like it was designed by a bunch of kids…well…"

Megumin grabbed my collar angrily. "Are you calling me a kid?! I hope you know what that would make you, if you are!"

"Oi, oi, calm down; I'm just saying, you're acting like one. Look, we all mature at our own pace and clearly the sense of aesthetics shared between all of you is somewhere around grade school level."

"I don't know what's this 'grade school' nonsense, but I firmly believe you're insulting me again, Kazuma!"

"Hey, hey, you're gonna ruin my mood, just calm down, alright? Where are the others?"

Perhaps choosing to avoid being branded as immature, Megumin calmed herself. "Aqua went out and Darkness should be coming back from the school shortly. Irene is making dinner."

"Alright, I'm gonna go take a nap; wake me up when dinner's ready."

Megumin sighed. "…alright."

When I awoke, the light was already gone, and my room was dark. I quickly sat up, realizing that it was already far too late for me to have woken up by myself.

"_Damn that girl, did she forget to wake me…no, she probably let me oversleep on purpose."_

I looked around. I didn't really know what time it was; this world didn't have any clocks. Well…accurate timekeeping was sort of a privilege. Pocket watches **did** exist as I've seen nobles carrying them a few times, but as far as widely available clocks, it was nonexistent; perhaps that could be the next thing I tackle.

As I came out of my room, I could hear the maid speaking with someone in the living room; no matter what, it was odd for her to be speaking with anyone at this time of the night. I activated Lurk and slowly approached the room.

"You shouldn't really do such things," the maid said.

A small voice replied. "Aqua onee-chan doesn't mind; sometimes she leaves some out for me on purpose."

"Anna, that's not…I suppose it's fine then."

The little girl giggled; it was the child ghost that inhabited our mansion. For all the time here, I can't say I've ever really caught a good look at her; she was just as Aqua described her, a cute little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, characteristic of noble descent. Though she was a ghost, I could see her as clear as any living person. She wore a white undershirt with a dark dress over the top, a red ribbon was cutely tied around her head and a smaller one around her neck.

I peeked out to get a better grasp at the conversation. The little girl was tossing back a large bottle of what I presumed to be Aqua's alcohol. How a ghost was able to drink was one of those things I didn't even care to guess; it was as baffling as planted mackerel and flying cabbages. After she was done, she put the bottle down on the ground and climbed onto the sofa; there, she laid down and rested her head on the maid's lap.

For a couple of minutes there was silence; I was considering on returning to my room, however, Anna spoke once more.

"Mommy?"

"Hm?"

"Do you like the onii-chan of the house?"

I stiffened at the question.

Irene chuckled and replied, "Heavens no."

Even though I was relieved, I was still sort of mad that she answered so assuredly.

"No, Anna, I don't like the master of the house. Although he isn't all bad, he's still a terrible man…how he strings poor Lalatina-sama around like that."

My brow twitched. It wasn't like I was purposefully doing something like that to Darkness…that girl just had it in her to keep pursuing me.

"…why do you ask?"

"…I don't want Mommy to get thrown out because she had feelings for onii-chan."

The was silence once more…then Irene gave a weak chuckle. "…don't worry my little one, something like that will never happen."

I felt the hairs on my neck stand on end when she made this declaration, in a way, this was its own flag; saying things like "never" in such contexts would often mean the opposite was bound to happen.

"…I don't really want Mommy to leave."

"…don't you have fun with the others?"

"…Aqua onee-chan is really the only one I speak to…she's a great onee-chan but…"

I could see Irene stroke her head caringly. "If that's the case…I'll try to stay with you as long as possible."

I smiled at the scene before me; such instances of pure innocence were quite rare…indeed…almost nonexistent.

"By the way, Mommy," Anna said, sitting up.

"Yes?"

"The onii-chan and red-eye onee-chan made a mess on here the other day."

I could feel my soul slowly drifting from my body as I heard this little girl say this; if I could see myself, I know I would have a mortified look on my face.

"Hmm, mess? Did they drop something on here?"

I could see the maid looking at the couch in curiosity.

"Mhm," the little girl said sweetly.

"_Th-Th-Th-This LITTLE BRAT!"_ Then I remembered something else Aqua said about her…'she's a bit mischievous'. If I let this go on, it would become common knowledge that me and Megumin had messed around on the couch. Putting aside the maid, the other two will never let me live this down.

As I frantically thought about what I could do to stop this conversation, Chomusuke rubbed up against my leg.

"Sorry," I said, grabbing the cat in my hands; I, remorsefully, threw Chomusuke as hard as I could.

Chomusuke meowed loudly as it sailed over the couch. Almost instantly, Irene shot up and looked around. To my relief, Anna, the child ghost, was gone. After I made sure Irene was headed back to her room, I too, went back to my own.

_**-Next Day; late afternoon**_

Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well. Despite sleeping away most of the day, I was still quite tired. When I came down to get something to eat, I found all the others staring at me.

The resident annoying goddess spoke. "Well, look who decided to finally wake up."

"What are you talking about," I said. "From the looks of it, you just woke up too."

Aqua was still in her pajamas.

"And why are you guys staring at me; quit it, it's annoying."

"We're staring at you cause Megumin told us about how you declined to use the family crest we made."

I frowned. "That thing's a joke; I don't want something like representing me."

"What exactly is wrong with it, Kazuma?" Megumin said with slight aggravation in her voice. "You never told me."

"And **you** never woke me up like I told you to."

She quickly averted her gaze.

"Listen," I continued, "I'll handle the crest; don't worry about it. And Darkness, why are you so quiet, have you finally become a proper noblewoman?"

Darkness, who was quietly sipping some tea, spat it out in response. "What are you talking about, you imbecile; I've always been a proper noblewoman!"

"That's correct," the maid said, coming from the kitchen. "Perhaps you can learn something from Lalatina-sama about proper etiquette…even if her study is for females."

"Please," I scoffed. "There's nothing proper about her except for the fact that she's clearly a weirdo."

Darkness interjected. "If you want me to fold you in half why don't you just come say that in my face."

"Ah, I forgot, and the fact that she's a proper muscle head."

Darkness shot up and began trying to get a hold of me. As she did, I quickly ran around the couch and hid behind Megumin.

"H-Hey, don't hide behind me!"

"Oh, you think because you're behind Megumin I won't break you in half?!" To my and Megumin's surprise, Darkness quickly grappled her arms around the both of us.

"Ah, Darkness, what do you think you're doing?!" Megumin shouted as she futilely tried to push her away.

Despite Megumin's cries and protests, Darkness continued to tighten her grip.

"Ah, Darkness, wait," I said with shortening breaths. "Megumin's back is too hard; let me and her switch places."

"Hard?! You—Darkness, break him in half!"

At Megumin's command, Darkness' grip tensed sharply.

"W-W-Wait! Ah!"

There was an audible crack and just as I felt it was over for me, she released her grip. I fell to floor like a limp noodle, while Megumin hunched over like an old oba-san with back pains.

Darkness cracked her knuckles. "If you want me to crack your back again, Kazuma, just let me know."

"I'd appreciate it if I wasn't included in these," Megumin said as she continued rubbing her back.

"You know, Megumin," Aqua said, rubbing her chin, "I think the design would've been better if there were more Axis emblems."

"…"

**Part 3**

As I laid on the couch, Darkness nursed my aching back. Megumin went into the kitchen to help with cooking dinner and Aqua, oddly enough, wanted to help as well.

"This ointment should do it," Darkness said as she rubbed it in. "It's a little something I bought from a shop some time ago."

Even though we had an Archpriest who could immediately resolve such issues, naturally, she refused; citing, both, things I owed her and the fact that the entire situation could've been prevented had I not provoked Darkness. Technically, she was right about the second point and it was only because of this that I didn't force her to heal me…and the fact that I wasn't in top form.

"You know," I began, "you wouldn't have to do this if you weren't so physical."

Darkness stopped momentarily, and then pressed her fingers with noticeably more force. "And you wouldn't be in this condition had you not antagonized me."

I winced slightly. "I was just surprised to see you so quiet; it kinda makes me forget how much of a perverted weirdo you are."

"Are you trying to get me to kill you, Kazuma?"

I glanced back and gave a mocking sigh. "I wonder what Eris-sama would say if she found out I was murdered by one of her most precious—"

Darkness pressed her hands forcefully onto my back in embarrassment.

"Ahhh!" I yelled, whipping around in an attempt to shove her off, but Darkness slipped forward, falling straight onto my chest.

Of course, with my yelling, the others sprinted out of the kitchen.

"Ah, Darkness is trying to have her way with Kazuma! I gotta tell everyone," Aqua said, making her way towards the door.

Megumin quickly grabbed her collar, and then turned to us with a brow raised; she didn't really appear angry, just mildly confused. "What's going on?" She asked.

"I-I was just trying to—"

"She was trying to pin me down and have her way with me," I interjected; I made sure to keep a straight face as I said it.

Megumin shifted her attention to Darkness, her eyes narrowing slightly. Aqua, who was still being held by her collar, looked between us. The maid stood behind the others with her gaze squarely fixed on me; I'm sure she didn't buy my jest.

"M-Megumin, surely you don't believe him!" Darkness quickly turned my way with an angry look on her face.

"I admit, Darkness, perhaps I shouldn't have riled you up."

Hearing me say this, Darkness relaxed a little, however, I continued.

"I shouldn't have said you wouldn't take advantage of my weakened state to have your way with me, but to think—"

Darkness quickly threw her hands over my mouth and shoved my face into the couch. Maybe she didn't realize in her embarrassment, but she was doing a fine job of suffocating me. I kicked my feet in response, then grabbing her arms, activated Drain Touch.

To no one's surprise (perhaps except the maid), Darkness let out a yelp caught halfway between excitement and shock. Using this moment, I pushed her off me and sat up, gasping for air.

"What's wrong with you two?!" Megumin shouted, her eyes glowing. "I leave you alone for a couple of minutes and the both of you are attempting to have an affair in the next room?!"

Darkness, who was rubbing her head after she fell, got up and protested. "M-Megumin, I would never do such—"

"Oh really, you would **never**? I didn't realize you have such a short memory, Darkness!"

Given Megumin's sharp retort, Darkness let out a small whimper.

"And you, Kazuma," she went on, turning her attention to me, "I know you probably did something to lead her on."

"Huh, I'm injured, how would I even go about following through with something like that?"

"You must really think me dumb."

I looked away slightly. I expected Megumin to lunge at me in response, however, she just sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," She said rather calmly. Then, Megumin headed back into the kitchen.

The maid glanced briefly at Darkness, and then stared at me before heading back as well. Aqua, who now stood alone, looked at us with a sort of clueless look on her face, and then smiled.

"There's no way you'd ever do something like that, Darkness."

At this comment, she lit up in happiness.

Aqua continued. "You aren't bold enough to."

A moment later, Darkness' expression convulsed between a frown and a conflicted smile.

Afterwards, we ate dinner. Although I didn't have much to say in the table conversation, the others seemingly did.

Darkness spoke about how well the schooling program was going; according to her, if it continued, her father would recommend starting others in the cities throughout the kingdom.

Aqua regaled us about the nonsense she did yesterday with the Axis Cult nun, Cecily; apparently the nun found the garbage bins around town stuffed with Axis Cult pamphlets and went around collecting them, and then reissuing them—quite forcefully—to people passing by.

Finally, Megumin went on to complain about the rejected design for the family insignia once again; she elaborated on how much effort she put into thinking about things that described us. I couldn't really argue with her there; the things she included in the design were pretty much **them** in detail, however, there was nothing that encompassed **me**.

Soon after dinner, we all headed to bed. Since I spent most of the day sleeping, I didn't really feel tired. So, I lay in bed playing the handheld.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. "Kazuma." It was Megumin.

"Come in," I answered.

As she did, I put aside the gaming device. Megumin was dressed in her usual pajamas.

"What's up?" I queried.

She shook her head lightly as she approached the bed. "Nothing…do you mind if I sleep with you tonight?"

I smirked, and then pat the spot beside me.

Megumin climbed onto the bed and settled in. She drew the sheets up to her neck, and then stared up at the ceiling. Both of us were silent; this went on for the better part of a few minutes, but eventually, she spoke.

"Hey, Kazuma."

"Hm?"

"Are you happy?" She turned to look at me as she asked.

"Am I happy?" I repeated. I closed my eyes for a second, and then nodded. "Yeah, I gotta say I'm pretty happy. Why?"

Megumin shook her head. "I just wanna make sure."

I raised a brow in suspicion. "Hmm, you trying to make sure I'm happy because you did something, right?"

She frowned in reply. "I haven't done anything wrong if that's what you're insinuating."

"Yet, anyways."

"I-I know I cause problems occasionally, b-but you gotta admit I'm the least of your worries."

"Hmm, you think so…"

Megumin's eyes began glowing as she shifted to her side to stare at me. "How am I the cause of your worries?!"

"Isn't it obvious? You're the explosion maniac with a few loose screws."

"Hey, are you trying to pick a fight with me?!"

Yeah, Megumin was the girl with a short fuse and an explosive temper to match, but it wasn't these characteristics that caused me the most worry—at least, not anymore.

"Hey, calm down. Anyways, didn't you come here to sleep, or did you come for a night raid?"

Megumin's eyes widened for a split second, then she smiled calmly. "So, what if I did? What would you do, Kazuma? What would you do if I had my way with you right now?"

Humph, this girl swears she could string me along so easily. I turned on my side and stared at her back with the same expression she was giving me.

"I didn't take you for that type of girl, Megumin." I said this knowing full well if I had told her she wouldn't do something like that, she would've; it would've been as good as a calling her out.

For an instant, she, once again, gave off a surprised look. "There's an interesting one," She said with a more innocent smile. "What **do** you think of me; what type of girl had you seen me as, and what type of girl do I appear to you now?"

I gave the question some thought in the brief silence that followed. Then, I answered.

"Hmm, back when I first met you; I thought you were a bit strange…maybe joking around with me and Aqua. I think at first glance, before you made your introduction, I thought you were a cute & smart mage with a good bit of talent."

I could see Megumin furrow her brow and the incandescence of her crimson eyes begin to grow in their intensity.

"Why'd your view of me change when I introduced myself? Are you trying to say my introduction gave you a bad impression of me?!"

I looked away, and then quickly posed my own question in response. "H-How about you; what'd you think of me then?"

My quick-witted plan worked and Megumin's anger was assuaged as she pondered for an answer to my question.

"Now and…then…" She mumbled. "Hm, back then I thought you were a very odd person. I believed Kazuma was a trouble-maker and annoying."

"…oi."

Megumin smiled innocently, and then continued. "Now, I believe Kazuma is a sort of reliable person with a good heart who often does questionable things in order to satisfy his more decadent desires."

"…that hardly sounds any better than the first comment—no, in fact, I think it might be worse."

Megumin giggled, and then drew close to me, placing her forehead to my chest. "Even so," she said in an almost whisper, "Kazuma is the man I love dearly."

I couldn't rein in my feelings of embarrassment; why was this girl so adept at working me over like this…I really must be an easy guy.

Still recovering from my vulnerable state, Megumin looked up at me, and with excitement in her voice, asked, "How about now, how does Kazuma see me as now?"

I cleared my throat loudly. "H-How do I see you as now? Well"—Megumin stared at me expectantly—"I…I think that Megumin is…is an odd girl who likes to tempt me constantly."

She smiled. "I used to leave those feelings for you to deal with on your own, but now…" She pressed herself closer to me, her face moving towards me, her lips drawing closer to my own. Then, she stopped, displaying a playful smirk upon her face.

"_But now it wasn't any different," _I thought; perhaps Megumin didn't start off trying to seduce me, but now it was becoming something quite customary for her to try and pull off.

I backed away and turned around. "Go to sleep," I mumbled.

Megumin gave me no response, and in the silence that followed, I felt nervous. Then, I felt her arm wrap around my stomach, her head press against the top of my back.

"Oyasumi, Kazuma," She whispered into my ear.

I shivered in titillation; the feeling of goosebumps pocking my skin happening in tandem. I gulped as silently as I could and tried to calm myself down; my breathing slowing as a result, my eyes closed firmly.

"_Go to sleep, Kazuma," _I thought to myself. Taking some deep breaths, I was finally able to come down from the excitement and anxiousness I was feeling. As I began to force myself to sleep, I felt Megumin snuggle closer to me, causing my anxiety to flare up once more.

I peeked over my shoulder and saw that she was already fast asleep; her previous action being a benign act of comfort and innocence. Realizing this, I sighed and quickly set myself to sleep.

The following week and a half went by. I set aside time to make the design for the family crest, but apart from this, we pretty much went on to do the usual activities we often did. Since I finished the plans for the insignia, I decided to wake fairly early to take it to the registry office in the capital.

"You're awake early," Darkness said as I came down to the living room. "Planning on doing something?"

"Gonna head to the registry office."

"Ah, so you finished the crest?"

I smirked proudly. "Of course."

"Mind if I go with you?"

"Huh, don't you have to teach at the school?"

"I only help out, Kazuma; I'm not a full-time teacher. You know as well as anyone that my calling is for adventuring."

"Right…adventuring. Well, I don't mind. In fact, I could use your help with the process; now that I think about it, I don't actually know how to go about doing this."

Darkness smiled. "Leave it to me, Kazuma; as a noble, such matters are part of our everyday."

"Well, at least you're useful in those aspects."

Of course, Darkness' face went flush. "I-I'm useful in other things too!"

I crossed my arms in doubt, then again, Darkness was the best meat shield around, so I guess she was technically right.

"Lalatina-sama," the maid said.

We both turned to her. "Yes, what is it, Irene?" Darkness replied, the embarrassment she wore mere moments ago, gone.

"Are you headed out?"

Darkness nodded. "Umu, I'm going to registry office with Kazuma; something wrong?"

"Not at all, I was simply wondering if you wanted me to pack you some lunch."

Darkness smiled lightly. "That won't be necessary."

Looking at the maid, she seemed disappointed by her oujou-sama's answer. She quickly recomposed herself. "I-I see. Well, in any case, I shall have something prepared for you upon your return, is that a good compromise?"

"Umu, thank you for your continued service. Even as a maid of another house, you still serve me with diligence and faithfulness; I'm glad."

The maid's cheeks went red as she lowered her gaze in timidity; it was honestly an odd expression to see her display, completely foreign and perplexing to me.

Leaving that behind, Darkness and I went on to the Teleport Station. I was seriously considering learning Teleport since I had the required skill points but doing so would require quite a bit of effort on my part; it was advance magic, so I'd have to memorize the complex chants in order to use it. Since this was the case, I held off on learning it; I could learn other skills—more skills, for the same cost.

"What's with the serious look, Kazuma?" Darkness asked me as we walked. "Are you upset at Irene?"

"Huh?" I said, coming to my senses. "Oh, no, I was just thinking about something."

"Oh, I thought maybe you were upset about her not giving you much attention."

"What do you guys think I am? I'm not a guy who cries for attention. No, I'd say I'm quite the opposite, I'd be fine if you guys gave me **less** attention."

Darkness raised a brow. "It doesn't seem that way; whenever you step in front of a crowd you always seem to want to showboat—especially in front of women."

I scoffed. "Darkness, what good is a reputation if you can't exploit it? Listen, I've worked hard to raise my reputation to where it is now, if I don't exercise the fruits of that labor, it'd be the same as someone not using the gifts they're born with, a waste."

"For some reason, I can tell you'd make a good statesman, Kazuma; honestly, that worries me."

"Pfft, I've been subjected to horrible mistreatment every step of the way; if I finally get the chance to change a few things around here, it'd honestly be for the better."

Darkness sighed.

"By the way, where are the other two?"

"Huh? Oh, Aqua and Megumin?"

I nodded.

"They both headed out for Megumin's Explosion."

This was good, having them out of the way would certainly make things go smoother.

As we walked through the streets of the capital, Darkness smiled.

Glancing over at her, I said, "You seem happy; something good happen?"

She looked over at me, confusion momentarily adorning her face, then she smiled once more. "Yeah, I think you could say something good happened."

"Oh? What?"

Darkness looked away slightly, the tips of her ears going red. She quickly raised her head with a proud look on her face. "I-I finally get to show you my worth as a noble."

"Ah, so that's it; you finally acknowledged how useless you can be?"

"Th-That's not what I meant! I mean I finally have the opportunity to show you my knowledge on such matters."

"Huh, ah, so that's what you meant. You know, Darkness, you **are** pretty useless most of the time"—I could see Darkness begin to show a desperate and panicked expression—"but there have been times where I don't think we could've got past our issues without you."

As I said this, the panic she had instantly left, a placidness overtaking her, a serene smile gracing her face.

"Kazuma," she said, turning to look at me with smile, "why don't we go somewhere today?"

"Hmm, like a date?"

"N-N-Not like a—"

"Sure, where do you wanna go? Is there an inn somewhere we can—"

"S-Stop saying such…things." Darkness looked down despondently. "You know you don't really mean it."

"What are you talking about? I totally meant what I said."

Darkness quickly looked up in bewilderment. "You, you can't be…serious…are you? Wha-What about Megumin; are you guys having issues?"

"Huh, no, well, I meant what I said, Darkness; doesn't mean I can follow through with it though. I told you before anyways; you're definitely my flavor for the type of body I like in a girl."

"B-Body…" Darkness mumbled, her face turning red. "So…if…I changed my personal—"

"Don't," I said firmly. "As much as your fetish ruins you for my ideal type, I don't want you to change; unfortunately, that's what makes you, you." Darkness stared at me in awe. "…that, your freakishly hard muscles, and your obscenely large boobs."

After being roughed up by Darkness, we continued to the registry office.

"Ka, Kazuma, why don't we get some breakfast?"

I glanced at her. _"Hmm, Darkness is really insisting on this date thing. I mean, taking a girl out to eat is a date, right? I'm pretty sure. I __**am**__ with Megumin though…but it's not like I'm doing anything wrong, me and Darkness are just gonna get something to eat together. Plus, Darkness __**has**__ been asking for something like this for quite some time." _After sparing the thought, I replied. "Sure, don't see why not; I know a place near the palace."

"This isn't some ploy to try and see Iris-sama, is it?!"

"Relax, there'll be time for that later."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Let's just focus on getting something to eat; now that you mentioned it, I am pretty hungry."

The restaurant, being near the palace, was one of refined taste and atmosphere; in truth, such a place would've been better visited for dinner, but my past experiences with it urged me to come at this time.

Entering, we were greeted by a host. "Welcome to Sange Bleu, will it be just the two of you today?" He said, looking between us.

"Umu," I replied with a nod.

Suddenly, he showed a look of surprise, and then quickly bowed deeply. "Forgive me, I failed to recognize arguably the two most important individuals in the kingdom—besides the royal family, of course."

I gave an arrogant smirk. "Well, such mistakes can be overlooked with…a bit of gratitude. Ahem."

The host smiled nervously. Ye-Yes, of course. Let me see if the best seating is available." He quickly ran off.

I turned to Darkness who was silent all this time. "Hey, why are you quiet, I definitely thought you would've said something."

"Hm? Why? I mean, you're right. I know of Sange Bleu; this is a restaurant which serves only the highest echelons of society. For them to not recognize the Dustiness family heir is infuriating; it's only right that they give some sort of reparation for such an affront."

Ah, yes, it was slightly surprising to see Darkness displaying such wayward behaviors; when I first knew her, she was ridiculously stubborn when it came to the abuse of her status, now she made little effort to reign in such habits.

The host returned and with another bow, lead us to a seating arrangement out on the balcony.

"Here you are," he said, putting an arm out towards the seats. "Please, let me know if there's anything not to your liking."

Even before he left, our waitress arrived. In stark contrast, to say, the guild, the female waitresses here wore a suit-like attire; it was one of the things I could say I didn't like about this place. Though, from time to time, there would be the occasional big-breasted onee-chan who would serve me, so it wasn't all bad.

"Good morning, my name is Astera, do you need a few minutes or are you ready to order?"

Darkness spoke first. "I'll have the special monarch veal with a side of blue salad, little seasoning, please. A glass of water for the drink."

The waitress quickly jotted down the order, and then looked to me. "And you, sir, what will you be having?"

I quickly glimpsed the menu in front of me. "I'll have the…poached dragon eggs with Beluki sliced ham, some of the blanche steamed rice, and a side of the 12-grain toast."

"Drink?"

"Oh uh, a bit of Neroid Water."

"How would you like the ham cooked?"

"Uhhh, seared?"

"Very well, will there be anything else I can get the both of you?"

Darkness answered. "No, I believe that'll be all, thank you."

Our waitress bowed, and then left, grabbing the menus in the process.

As we waited, I took a good look of where we were at; the balcony seating gave a good view of the city and the palace nearby. The morning sun was barely over the horizon; it gave this the feeling of the clichéd romantic getaway. When I looked back, Darkness was staring at me with a sort of embarrassed look.

"Oi, what are you getting all flustered for?"

"W-What are you talking about, it's just a bit hot out here."

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. "Right."

"…still, this is one of the few times we've gone out together, you know…just the two of us."

I raised a brow in intrigue, and then sat up. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"It's…quite nice, actually."

"Yeah, it's not bad. Quiet without the other two here."

"I feel it tends to be that way whenever we all aren't together, right? That time I was gone was the same I bet. And the other time when Aqua was away."

"Umu. Now that I think about it, that week when Megumin took off felt similar as well. I guess having one of you guys missing makes the whole thing kinda…I don't know…off."

Darkness smiled. "Do we mean that much to you, Kazuma?"

"Well…I think if one of you left permanently it would get boring, but the occasional calm it brings is by no means bad."

In response to my answer, Darkness frowned; however, it was brief, a more solemn expression replacing it. "Kazuma, I believe it would be very different if **you** were the one to leave though."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

She gave off a feeble smile. "I feel we would definitely drift apart if it weren't for you; I really think you're the one that holds all of us together."

In the light of such praise and honesty, I couldn't help but blush. I cleared my throat. "I suppose someone has to; you guys wouldn't be able to find anyone to take you in, if I didn't."

"I think you're right," Darkness said; the sad look she had was still present.

Why did this girl choose to be so agreeable at this point? It made it really difficult to not take pity on her.

"W-Well, I think—"

"Your food and drinks, Master Satou and Lady Dustiness," the waitress announced. She placed our plates in front of us, the drinks slightly off to the side. "Please let me know if you need anything else, I'll be nearby."

I peeked out at Darkness as we ate; I never noticed it before, but her table manners were quite refined. She ate with the sense of grace I expected a pampered noble to eat with.

"Heh."

"Hmm?" Darkness looked up from her meal. "Something funny?"

"Ah, I just noticed that you're definitely a nobleman's daughter."

She put down her utensils. "What do you mean?"

"Ah, just noticing Lalatina-sama's table manners; the finesse she shows is astonishing," I mocked.

Darkness furrowed her brow, her face growing red in the process. "Would you stop! I-I can't help it; it's not my fault that I grew up being taught the etiquette that befits a noble!"

I chuckled. "Calm down, I'm just saying, I find it somewhat soothing. Megumin and Aqua pretty much scarf down their food with little thought."

"O-Oh…I, I see. Ahem, well, thank you, Kazuma."

"Of course, Lalatina."

She blushed in embarrassment.

**Part 4**

After finishing our meal, we proceeded to the registry office. Since it was my first time going, Darkness was the one leading; had she not been present I probably would've asked at the adventurer's guild.

"Haaaah." Darkness sighed heavily as we walked. She wore a wide smile. "The day is beautiful, isn't it, Kazuma?"

"Eh, I suppose it's not bad. Hey, Darkness, you sure we're going the right way; it shouldn't take this long to get to the office, right?"

"Of-Of course we're going the right way!" She shouted back, fidgeting anxiously as she did.

I stared at her suspiciously.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that, Kazuma? *gasp* Could it be that you're thinking of doing questionable things to me?"

"Does your brain get smaller the more muscle you gain?! I just have a sneaking suspicion that you're taking the scenic route on purpose."

The angry look on Darkness' face quickly disappeared as she turned away from me in a panic.

"Oi."

"Ahaha, look Kazuma, don't those clouds look—"

"Oi, would you quit wasting time?!"

"Ah-Ah…sorry," She mumbled apologetically.

Eventually, we made it to the registry office. As we entered, I instantly recognized two people standing in line.

"Oi!" I shouted.

The red-robed mage and her blue-robed companion looked back at me.

"Ah, w-what are you doing here?" Megumin said anxiously.

"That's the same thing I wanna ask you."

She swiftly averted her gaze.

"Next," the clerk said unenthusiastically.

As Megumin went to step forward, I grabbed her collar. "Oi, I wanna know what you're doing here; I came because I was gonna register our crest. So, what reason do **you **have for being here?"

Megumin began to fidget nervously, then out of nowhere, she yelled, "Do it, Aqua, it's up to you!" She tossed a roll of paper at her.

The accomplice goddess grabbed the roll and ran towards the next open window. "I wanna register this crest—"

"No, she doesn't!" I yelled, wrenching Aqua away by her hair.

"Ahhh, stop it, you stupid NEET!"

"Quit resisting, you're making a scene!" I glanced over at Megumin and saw that she was at another window with another roll in her hand. _"This girl actually made copies?!_ Darkness, don't stand there, get Megumin!"

"Ah—oh, right!"

Unsurprisingly, this attempt to stop them, devolved into a small scuffle between us, in the end however, me and Darkness managed to stop them.

I stared angrily at the two girls knelt before me; we were stood in the alleyway beside the office.

"I can't believe you were gonna do something like that behind my back!" I yelled at Megumin.

Even though I expected her to be more submissive in this circumstance, she wasn't, and fired back just as angrily. "Y-You never even really explained what was wrong with our design—Darkness, I can't believe you would defend him; he rejected the emblem we all made together!"

Darkness looked away with a mildly remorseful expression.

"Hey, you forget that I wasn't even present for that; I even told you I'd be the one to choose in the end!"

"You never said such things, Kazuma!"

"Why am I a part of this?!" Aqua yelled. "It's my birthday in a couple days, treat me better, you all need to treat me better!"

"I **was** planning on getting you something nice," I interjected, " but now I think you'll get what you deserve, nothing!"

"Ah, d-don't be like that, Kazuma!" Aqua yelled as she grabbed onto me. "I-I'm sorry! See? I apologized, now get me something!"

I pushed her away, and then crossed my arms, my gaze darting between them in frustration. "Ugh, you two are an endless source of trouble for me, you know?"

Megumin looked down with a frown on her face, a second later, she looked at me with a glimmer of remorse. "If you're so insistent on turning in your own design we should all have a look at it at least; you even said this was something that involved all of us, right?"

I sighed, and then retrieved the paper from the satchel. Megumin took it in hand and as she stared at it, Aqua leaned in to get a closer look, Darkness joined in as well.

After some silence, Megumin let out a sigh. "I admit, it's a decent design, however, it lacks the punch ours had."

"Don't be an idiot," I retorted, grabbing the paper back from her. "Sure, an insignia is supposed to look cool, but it's gotta have a meaning anyone looking at it can understand; if we used your design, the only people who would know what it meant would be us and the other cheat-item users from Japan. We'd be a laughingstock."

"Exactly what about the design would make us a laughingstock?!" Megumin said, her eyes starting to glow from her increasing anger.

I could feel my brow twitch; I was growing tired of this conversation. "Alright, let me explain this to you; the design I made is simple, but says everything anyone needs to know about us. Did you notice the sign in the back—what it means?"

Megumin lowered her gaze to ponder on it, but I answered without giving her much time. "It's the sign of the Mark of Proof; anyone who see our crest will know without a doubt that we've slayed a Demon King; there's no greater mark of respect or glory than that. The rest, the magic staff, sword, shield, and winged staff pretty much represent us. Look, I know it isn't flashy, but we need something like this; unlike white suit's or Darkness' family, we don't have a long-standing history, our greatest accomplishment should be upfront where anyone can see and acknowledge it, get it?"

Megumin's face softened at my explanation; she looked at Aqua and Darkness, both stared back at her, and then at me with a similar look.

"What?" I said.

Megumin smiled. "You actually thought it through."

"Oi."

She giggled. "Ok, sorry, I doubted you; you're right."

"I didn't see any Axis emblems on there though," Aqua mentioned. "At least Megumin's design had one; I want an Axis emblem on there!"

"You obviously weren't listening; the last thing we need is an Axis emblem," I replied irately.

"What's wrong with having one—or a couple?!"

"Tch, I'm not even gonna entertain an explanation." I turned around and headed back into the office; the others followed. After waiting in line once more, we finally reached an open window.

"How can I help you today?" the clerk asked with a raised brow; it seems our earlier fiasco had left some bad impressions.

"I'd like to register a family crest."

"Ah, ok, here you go," He said, handing me a stack of forms. "Please fill those in. Once you're done, you may turn it in."

With this said, we stepped away from the window and headed to a nearby bench.

I sat down and cleared my throat. "Here you go," I said, holding out some portions for the each of them; however, the girls all looked away, Aqua trying to blow a tune as she turned away.

I quickly grabbed on to her.

"No!" She yelled. "I don't wanna!"

"Oi, stop it, why do you always have to throw a fit?!"

"W-Well then," Megumin said, tilting the rim of her hat down, "I'll see you two—"

"Oh no you don't!" I quickly grabbed on to her with my other arm.

Of course, the two of them struggled as hard as they could to get away.

"Stop struggling," I said angrily, "you're making me look bad!"

"I don't wanna fill out forms!" Aqua sobbed. "I hate filling out forms!"

"No one **likes** filling out forms, now shut up and do your part or I'll make sure to register you as the family pet!"

I shoved Aqua's portion into her chest, and then turned towards Megumin who was still trying her best to pull away.

"Oi," I said, yanking her close.

Megumin stared at me worriedly. "I-I just remembered, Yunyun said she wanted to go somewhere—"

"Shut it; weren't you the most vocal about your role in all this? Here's your chance to prove yourself. If you can get through the monotony of filling forms, then I'll acknowledge your tenacity."

"W-Why do I need to prove myself to you; haven't I done so on many occasions already?"

"Fine." I let go of her.

Megumin stumbled back slightly, and then looked at me in perplexity. "Fine?"

"It's alright," I said, setting the forms aside. "Perhaps I expected too much from you. You can go ahead and play while I handle all of the grown up—"

Megumin snatched away the stacks and furiously penned away at the questions before her.

I turned to Darkness but saw that she had already grabbed her own portion and sat down; I seemed to forget that she does this on a fairly regular basis.

"Oi, Darkness."

"Hmm?" She looked up from the forms.

"You don't have to do so many, after all, you have your own house."

"It's alright, Kazuma; I don't really mind it." After she said that, she returned her attention to the forms, though she wore a faint smile on her face.

Nearly an hour passed by the time we finished; Megumin and Darkness passed me their stacks.

"Oi, you done?" I asked Aqua; she was hunched over the forms with a frustrated expression.

"Almost." As she said this, Aqua seemed to focus more; she really seemed to be taking this seriously.

"Something stumping you; can't say I'm really surprised. Here, I'll help you—oi." Looking at the paper, I could see most of it was undone; an assortment of drawings lined the margins of the forms. "Is this what you've been doing all this time?!"

"I told you I don't like doing forms," Aqua squealed. "Why are you making do things I don't wanna?!" She said, beginning to sob in the process.

"You think any of us **like** doing this?!"

"Darkness does."

The mentioned oujo-sama looked around panickily.

"Darkness," Aqua said, grabbing her hands, "won't you do this for me? My birthday is soon, you can do this for me, right?!"

"Oi, stop pushing your work on others!" I yelled. "If you keep acting like this, I'm gonna put a toad in your performance pot."

Aqua latched on to me and began shaking me as she wailed loudly. "Why are you always so mean to me, Kazuma?!"

"Gah, let go!" As I tried to pry her from me, I was met with stares from nearly everyone present. "Argh, ok, shut up, stop crying!"

Aqua instantly stopped and pulled away with a proud smirk.

"_Damn upstart goddess…" _I took the remaining forms and divvied them up between me, Darkness, and Megumin. "Don't think I'm letting you off with this," I remarked as the rest of us started on the papers.

Several more minutes passed but we finally finished; I returned with the stack of papers. "Here, all done."

"Ok sir," the clerk replied as he grabbed the stack. "After we review the information, we'll send a notice to your home; it'll contain the permits for your insignia. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm good, thanks."

Having finished what we came for, we all thought on what to do next as we toured the city. As different suggestions were tossed around, Megumin finally posed a question that caught my attention.

"Kazuma, what ever happened to the reward Master Holt promised you?"

"Ah, that's right."

Master Holt promised me a couple things for the successful completion of the Royal Provision. I let it go on account of what happened to Gren, but I still expected him to follow through on his promises.

"You know," I said, "why don't we go ask him; it's been a while since then."

And so, our next destination was the Royal Smith's. Upon arriving, there were sentries posted at the door; it didn't take much guessing as to why this was the case. When we entered, we saw a male attendant seated behind the counter; in stark contrast to his predecessor, he showed no enthusiasm for the job and showed **us** no attention when we came in.

"Hey," I said, after standing around for a few minutes.

At this, he looked up from what appeared to be a book he was reading and glanced at me. He frowned slightly and then sighed. "Is there something you need?" He asked in a mildly irate tone.

I could feel my brow twitching.

"Yeah!" Megumin interjected. "You could show your customers some attention! Someone with more respect had to leave for you to be here; the least you could do is show the same amount of effort she put in!"

The boy, slightly taken aback by Megumin's outburst, cleared his throat. "S-Sorry," He mumbled in embarrassment. "What can I do for you?"

Seeing the boy's submissive attitude, Megumin relaxed. "We're here to see Master Holt," She explained. "Please tell him it's Satou Kazuma."

"R-Right, please excuse me." The boy disappeared into the familiar setting below the shop.

When he was gone, we all turned to stare at Megumin.

"What?" She said, staring back at us in reply.

None of us said anything, we merely smiled.

After a few minutes, he returned. "The Royal Smith will see you. Please, follow me."

Going through routine, we followed him through the winding underground passage to eventually arrive at the forge. Up ahead we could see the figure of a skinny man working tirelessly over an anvil.

"Master Holt," the boy said, "the guests are here."

Holt, in the middle of his swing, stopped; he turned around and smiled.

"Thank you, you may go."

The attendant nodded, and then left.

"Kazuma-dono, forgive me; I know I promised you a number of things and I've yet to deliver on them."

"It's not that big an issue; I still want you to teach me smithing though."

"Of course; I can deliver on everything I promised you. In fact, I sent a letter out to you just a few minutes ago; I was actually hoping to see you soon. I just…I wanna know…is…Gren, is she alright? I heard she was spared execution thanks to your efforts."

"Uh, well, yeah, she's alright. She's uhh, banished, from the capital; so, she won't be able to…well…"

"Umu." Holt nodded; his smile shrunk slightly. "I understand." He took a deep breath, and then placing his hands on his hips, smiled widely once more. "She's fine, so that's more than I can ask for. Kazuma-dono, you all have done me a great favor; thank you. I'll do my best to repay you in the fashion I know best; please, hand me your weapons."

I handed over Chunchunmaru, Megumin, her staff, and Darkness handed over her sword.

Holt looked at Aqua, and then at me. "Does your Archpriest not wield a weapon?"

"Uh no, she—"

"I've no need for mortal equipment," Aqua interrupted pompously. "I'm a bonafide goddess. So using such things will only prove to hinder—"

"No, as you can see, she's clearly delusional; giving her a weapon would only prove to be a hazard to the rest of us."

"Why?!" Aqua sobbed as she pounced on me.

Holt chuckled. "I see."

"Actually, can you do something else for Darkness?" I questioned.

"Darkness?"

She replied. "Ah, oh, that'd be me; that's the name I go by when I'm adventuring."

"An alias; not a bad idea, Lady Dustiness. I hear that adventuring can be quite dangerous to those of noble heritage."

"Well…"

"It's not as bad as you think," I interjected.

Holt laughed. "I see, I see; well then, what of this request, Kazuma-dono?"

"Oh, well, Darkness is terrible when it comes to hitting anything; if it's literally not throwing itself at her blade or…well no, that's about it."

Unsurprisingly, I could hear the heavy pants of our party's resident pervert.

I continued. "I was wondering if you could make some armor for her instead."

"Hmm"—Holt rubbed his chin—"…yes, I don't see why not."

"So, are you gonna upgrade our weapons?"

Holt smirked. "More than just an upgrade Kazuma-dono. I figured something out shortly after you left the Coronatite…and after I learned of Gren being spared. Pardon the pun, but I learned of the spark your weapons were missing."

I raised a brow in intrigue.

"Are you enchanting our weapons?" Megumin interposed.

"Humph, not quite; enchanting is done by an Enchanter, someone skilled in magic. I know a little bit, but nowhere near enough for me to enchant items. **However**, that isn't needed if the materials used in the construction of such items are already imbued with said effects."

"So, the Coronatite," I queried, "it was being used by you?"

"Uh, no. Well, not for my personal use. The Coronatite was mostly used for the project the crown needed it for, but I was allowed to keep several shards of it. This is all I'll need to fulfill what I'm aiming for."

"So, you're gonna use the shards to give our weapons a flame attribute?"

Holt smiled. "Yes, but that's just the beginning. You see, while I was feeling down, I thought about my goal, what I wanted to achieve; ever since I've become the Royal Smith, that goal has been to create a weapon on par with those wielded by heroes, divine weapons. I was always stumped, the closest I've ever come to that goal was in making the first Prince's blade, but every weapon since then has been subpar."

Subpar? This man had the nerve to call his works subpar, but I suppose it was that way with people who were masters of their craft.

Holt continued. "I realized something. There are, in this world, materials of legendary status, some mythical, some even thought to not exist, all difficult to acquire, maybe even impossible. I want you, Kazuma-dono, to acquire these materials. If you do, I promise to make you items on equal footing to those of the divine."

I couldn't lie, the sound of having such a powerful weapon made the gamer in me giddy with excitement, but the rational side of me thought giving me such a task after all I've done for him was quite obnoxious.

"We'll do it," Megumin answered resolutely. Her eyes were aglow in crimson; the excitement she felt, transparent.

I opened my mouth to retort, but then stopped; even though I was apprehensive about taking on such a task, there was no time limit on when it needed to get done, so, accepting it wouldn't really be too troublesome.

"Excellent!" Holt said happily. "Here's what you guys are going to need; first, this." He briskly walked over to one of the workbenches in the room and after rummaging through an assortment of papers, withdrew one. "Here it is," He said, handing me the rolled-up paper in his hand.

I unfurled it and as I began to examine its contents, the others gathered around me.

"What is this?" I said, looking up from the sheet.

"It's a list of the needed materials and their possible locations."

"Locations?" Megumin queried. "I thought you said some of these probably don't exist,".

"Indeed, most, if not all of these locations are mere guesses; however, please believe me when I say I made no small effort in putting together this list. These are legendary materials that any craftsman would love to try their hand at working with; as such, I made it some time ago, during my earliest years as a smith."

"So, you've been updating it ever since."

"That is correct. As you can see, some of the more recent materials don't really have much information to go on, so their whereabouts isn't something I could really speculate on. Kazuma-dono, I realize I'm asking for a lot, but please help me achieve this; I'm not asking for charity, you'll benefit greatly from something like this. I give you my word as the Royal Smith, if I can't make you an item worth the trouble, I'll renounce my position and give up the craft."

All of us stared at Holt in disbelief.

"Oi, that's going a bit—"

"It's not. What I ask of you is a…well, an almost impossible task; I won't put you guys through that trouble if the item I make with all the materials isn't good enough. So, I leave it up to you; if you decide to go through with it, please keep me updated on your progress. Also, for every material you bring back, along with the upgrades and the lessons, I'll throw in a skill up potion or something of equal value."

I was astonished, and by the looks of it, the others were too. What Holt was offering was beyond mere compensation; this man was offering his livelihood for the chance to make something amazing. I was humbled by the lengths he was going in the pursuit of his craft.

"Anyhow," he continued, "I'll get started on the upgrades and the armor. Kazuma-dono, I promised you a lesson. Come back tomorrow morning and we'll get started."

I put away the materials list, and then nodded.

"Ok," Holt said with a satisfied smile. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so," I replied, looking to others as I did.

"Umu, and how about the rings; is everything fine with them?"

Me and Megumin gave them a cursory glance. "Yeah, I suppose they're ok, but with how often you ask about it I can't help but feel a bit nervous."

Holt laughed. "Sorry, I'm just happy with how they came out; I want to make sure there's nothing wrong with them."

"Ah, well, I can understand that." Of course, anyone who made something they were proud off would want to make sure the thing in question was good or doing well.

"By the way…"

"Hmm?"

"Have you got any word on Ferris, Gren's sister; I heard you were doing some searching for her."

"Ah, no, nothing yet."

Holt sighed deeply. "…I see."

"Oh, you probably wanna know what Gren's been up to, right?"

Holt straightened up, and then scratched his head, a nervous smile adorned his face. "If, if you don't mind."

"She's in Axel working in a friend's magic shop."

Holt, once again, sighed—this time in relief. "I see…if Gren's with someone Kazuma-dono calls a friend then I don't have to worry. Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Umu."

After we gave our farewells, we headed back up top. As we came to the surface, the shop attendant was waiting.

"Umm!" He said loudly. "I'm, I'm sorry, please forgive my rude behavior!" He gave a sharp bow.

"Hey, it's fine. As long as you—"

"Not you!" He snapped at me. The boy then turned his eyes to Megumin. "I-I mean you…miss." His eyes darted away from her every couple of seconds, his ears growing red, and his body shifting every so often; this boy was clearly smitten with Megumin.

Megumin stared at the boy with a raised brow. "If you're truly sorry, you can start by respecting those I associate myself with."

The shop attendant panicked at her reply, however, Megumin continued.

"What's your name? Someone who doesn't even know how to introduce themselves isn't worth knowing."

"Orrin!" He yelled nervously; his voice nearly breaking. "Orrin Belladeux!"

"Humph"—Megumin struck a pose—"Belladeux-san, my name is Satou Megumin! The number one mage of Axel, the Crimson Annihilator, Vanquisher of the Demon Army, and Master of Explosions!"

I would've thought seeing Megumin give such a bombastic display would turn the boy off to her, but he seemed to grow even more ecstatic after her display.

"Oh, you're one of the heroes who defeated the Demon King and his army! A-Amazing! These must be your companions, but surely, a beautiful and smart mage like you would be the mastermind behind your party's multiple victories."

All of us stared at Megumin, who now began to grow red in slight embarrassment. "Of-Of course."

I narrowed my eyes but said nothing; perhaps Megumin noticed this because she quickly corrected herself.

"Of-Of course, I was a big help in whole scheme, but my companions here were invaluable. This is our Archpriest, Aqua." Aqua smiled and waved. "Our Crusader, Darkness." Darkness gave a nod. "And our, ahem, party leader, Kazuma."

"Yo."

"P-P-Party leader?! **He's** the leader?!"

"Oi."

"Yes, he's our party leader; I realize he doesn't look like much"—I frowned—"but I assure you, he's better than he looks."

The shop attendant looked at me with a discerning eye; he looked wholly unconvinced.

"Oi, what's your problem? You know I'm a high-ranking noble, right? I can have you picking up garbage off the streets by tomorrow morning!"

"Tch."

"_This little…"_

"M-Megumin-sama, please come again; I-I can see about getting you some nice deals on some staves since you're a mage."

Megumin raised her brow slightly. "These staves are quite nice…but I've no need for any; the one I have is the absolute best."

"The one…I don't—ah, you must've left it with Master Holt. I see, well, if it's a staff made by the Royal Smith then—"

"It wasn't."

"Huh?"

"Even if the Royal Smith were to make a brand new one, it wouldn't be topped anyways," Megumin remarked with a smile. "Anyhow, I believe our business is done here."

"W-Wait!" The boy panickily set himself between us and the door. "M-Megumin-sama, if-if it isn't too much…c-can I take you out to eat?"

Megumin stared at him in mild confusion.

"A-As a means of repayment!"

"Eating, huh?" She looked over at me with a questioning expression, and then smiled faintly.

In return, I gave a light shrug.

She turned back to the anxious boy. "Very well, Belladeux-san; when do you want to do this?"

"Um-Um, how does t-tomorrow sound?"

"Umu, tomorrow's fine; see you then."

**Part 5**

Megumin and Aqua made conversation as we made our way back to the Teleport Station; they walked slightly ahead while I trailed behind them. Darkness, who was silently walking alongside them, slew to my pace.

"Everything alright?" She asked.

"Hm, sure, why?"

"You look a little sad."

I frowned. "I'm not sad; why would you think I'm sad, cause another guy asked Megumin out?"

"Ah, well…"

"I don't really mind; Megumin doesn't seem interested in him anyways. Knowing her, she's likely accepting because of the free meal."

Darkness stared at me in surprise.

"What?"

"Uh—ah, nothing. I just, I expected you to be…somewhat…jealous."

I looked down as I briefly recalled my first traumatic betrayal. "I…I'm…" I sighed. "Megumin—you guys, you guys are free to do what you want; I'm not the type of guy who likes to tie someone down…"

"…"

"Besides…I'm gonna be doing the lessons tomorrow so Megumin would've probably ran off to do something anyways, even more so now that she doesn't have her staff; you know she can't sit still."

Darkness smiled. "Want me to accompany her; that way it'll be an outing with friends, I can even bring Aqua along."

I subconsciously gave her a hopeful look, then realizing this, quickly looked away. "If-If you don't mind—she shouldn't, right? I-I mean it's just a free meal for her, right?"

The smile on Darkness' face grew until she finally giggled. "Don't worry, I'll look after her."

I cleared my throat, regaining my composure in the process. "T-Thanks, Darkness."

Along the way, we passed by the Dustiness estate when I suddenly remembered.

"Ah, wait!" I yelled.

The others turned to look at me.

"What is it, Kazuma?" Darkness asked.

"T-The plant I bought, the Torment Stitcher; I never took it home."

Aqua sneered. "Good, I hope that ugly thing is dead."

"Shut up! I spent a good amount of money on that thing; even if I don't use it, I don't want it to go to waste! We gotta check."

Having said that, we made our way to the estate and entered the small garden area in the back.

"Huh?"

To our surprise, the plant was still alive; strangely enough, it appeared to give off a more oppressive aura then before.

"Why?!" Aqua wailed. "How is this stupid thing still alive?!"

"Weird," Darkness commented as she scratched her head.

"Didn't that devil say something about the plant needing arcana to live?" Megumin questioned. "I don't sense anything evil around here for it to draw on, do you, Aqua?"

Aqua, who was pouting angrily with her arms crossed, shook her head. "The only evil thing I can sense around her is this ugly abomination."

"Kazuma, maybe it's better to leave it here than to take it to the house," Megumin suggested. "I mean, it seems to be doing fine here."

"Hmm, ok. But, if this thing's fine doesn't that mean there's a high-ranking devil around? Aren't they the only ones capable of releasing arcana?"

Aqua answered. "Anything from the stupid place devils and their ilk come from exude that disgusting stench."

"So basically, anything from Hell exudes arcana."

"Not exactly." Megumin clarified. "Anything from Hell can release Arcana in trace amounts, but only powerful monsters and devils release it any discernable quantities."

I didn't like the implications; the plant was growing because there was a powerful monster or devil in the vicinity; however, our so-called goddess wasn't picking up anything. Unfortunately—or perhaps, fortunately, I had nothing else to go on, so I dropped it; even if we **were** able to identify the culprit, I didn't feel like going up against another powerful enemy anytime soon.

Deciding to leave the Torment Stitcher at the estate, we continued to the Teleport Station and returned home.

"Welcome home," the maid said as we took our places in the living room. "Lalatina-sama, the lunch I promised to make is nearly done; forgive me, I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"It's fine, Irene. Say, Megumin, about tomorrow, do you mind if me and Aqua tag along; I don't have to go to the school."

Aqua interrupted. "Ah, I was planning on helping out my faithful servant, Cecily, but I'm sure she'll understand if I told her I was invited out to eat."

Megumin finally answered. "I don't mind; I think it'll be better if you guys come along anyways."

Darkness gave me a quick glance and a smile. This girl…

"Hey, Kazuma," Aqua said as she began playing with Zell, "shouldn't you be putting more effort into finding Gren-san's sister; you were the one who promised to find her in the first place."

I crossed my arms in frustration. "I can't really do anything at the moment; there's nothing to go on, so I'm waiting on more information."

"…I just don't want us to be too late, you know?"

The mood in the room suddenly grew a bit somber.

"Look, don't worry about it too much; we're doing our best, right? No one can really expect more from us."

"Satou-sama," Irene said, coming back from the kitchen, "a letter arrived while you were at the capital; I believe it's from the Royal Smith."

"Oh, right, he did say he sent one. It's fine, you can toss it; I already met with him."

She gave a silent nod, and then returned to the kitchen once more.

"Well, I'm gonna go take a bath," Aqua announced. "Megumin, Darkness, wanna join me?"

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Darkness replied.

"Umu," Megumin agreed with a nod.

"Right then, I'll go heat up the water," Aqua informed; then she took off with the oversized chicken, Zell.

Darkness got up from her chair and stretched. "You coming, Megumin?"

"Yeah."

Darkness then proceeded to the bathroom, however, Megumin stayed seated beside me.

"Hey, aren't you going?" I asked.

She looked at me with a solemn smile. "You aren't gonna peek on us, are you?"

"Aqua's in there; any excitement I'd feel would be completely ruined by her."

Megumin giggled. "Kazuma."

"Hmm?"

"Are you ok with tomorrow; I'm not going because I—"

I raised my hand in interruption. "It's fine. I'm gonna be gone for a while and you'd likely get bored if you stayed here, so I don't really mind."

"You, you don't?"

I closed my eyes briefly as I stared up at the ceiling. "This means something, right?" I said, showing her the ring on my finger.

I could see Megumin look down with a faint smile, her eyes glowing slightly.

"Umu."

"Then I don't have to worry; besides, Aqua and Darkness will be with you so…"

She smirked. "And here I was thinking maybe you completely trusted me."

"O-Oi, it's not—"

Megumin placed a lone finger on my lips, and then stood in front of me. "I love you," She said, then leaned in and kissed me.

After a few moments, she broke away and smiled. "Try to be a good student and learn something tomorrow; I know you're not too fond of such things."

Then, while I was still stunned from what happened, she left.

I took a deep breath, shaking free of the feeling I had. I was then, suddenly, overcome by the feeling of fatigue, so I laid down on the couch. As I did, Chomusuke, who was sitting on the floor, jumped onto my chest and curled up.

"Ah, what are you doing here?" I said, calmly petting her. "Sorry 'bout what I did to you a while back, but the situation called for it."

In response, Chomusuke bit my finger, but quickly let go; she casually snuggled into the underside of my mantle.

"Ah, you're tired too? Alright, let's get some rest."

When I woke up, I heard Aqua yelling excitedly.

"Ah, ah, be careful Megumin, you almost died!"

"Shu—I got this—woah, where'd that come from?!"

"Ahhh, no, Sir Willheim the fifth!"

"Ah, s-sorry, Aqua."

"Ugh, could you guys be any louder?" I complained as I rubbed my face groggily.

"Kazuma, you're awake," Megumin said, shifting her attention towards me. "There's some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry."

"What time is it?"

"It's around evening."

"Did you guys eat dinner already?"

"Umu; Irene made some earlier."

"By the way, where's Darkness?"

"Oh, she and Irene went out to buy groceries."

"So late?"

"Well, they've been gone for some time, so I assume they're probably out doing something else."

"Well, if it's her, I don't think I have to worry."

"Kazuma!" Aqua yelled.

"Huh, what is it?"

She offered the controller to me. "Can you get past this level for me? Me and Megumin have been trying for hours and Sir Willheim the fifth died; now his son, Sir Willheim the sixth must avenge him."

I raised my brow, and then smirked. "Sure, let me show you just a glimpse of my abilities; Sir Willheim the sixth will avenge his father."

_**-A few minutes later…**_

"Ugh, I forget how good you are at this," Megumin said as I passed the controller back to Aqua.

"Hmm, I'm getting a bit rusty; back in Japan I would've cleared something like this a lot quicker."

"That just means that perhaps the hikkiNEET is becoming a sensible adult," Aqua commented offhandedly; her attention was mostly on the game.

"Oi, do you want Willheim the sixth to visit his father early?"

"Ah, don't take out your insecurities on poor Wilheim; he's already lost his father, why do you have to threaten him as well?"

This girl…I feel she's more nurturing towards a fake character than me. "Whatever. I'm gonna eat." I got up and headed to the kitchen. Using the prototype microwave, I heated up the leftovers; however, the appliance was still largely unfinished and produced near-scalding temperatures for whatever it reheated. This being the case, I used Freeze to cool down the bowl of food and went about eating it as I watched Aqua and Megumin to continue to play the game.

After I finished, I took a bath and headed to bed. Normally I'd stay awake till the early morning, but seeing as I had to be up early, I reconsidered. I sort of expected Megumin to visit me again tonight, but she didn't; maybe she didn't want to keep me up; in a way, I was kind of relieved.

_**-Next morning**_

Kazuma was already gone when I came down for breakfast.

"Megumin-sama." Irene called out to me.

"Hmm, oh, morning, Irene."

She gave a slight bow in reply. "I've made you some breakfast; it's a light meal since I hear you would be going out to eat later."

"Ah, yeah, thank you." I took a seat at the table where I saw Darkness rifling through several sheets of paper.

"What're you doing, Darkness?"

She sighed. "Assessing the student's answers; making sure they got the questions correct."

"Grading?"

"Uh, yeah, I suppose," She answered, appearing somewhat stressed.

"Your meal, Megumin-sama." Irene placed the plate and the accompanying utensils in front of me.

"Thank you," I said offhandedly; I then returned my attention to Darkness. "Are you gonna be busy today?"

She glanced up from the papers and gave me a reassuring smile. "No, I'm almost done. I'm just slightly concerned; some of the children don't seem to be retaining the knowledge from the lessons."

I smiled back, and then began to eat. "Darkness, you really like children, don't you?"

"Hmm? What's with that question, Megumin?"

"Oh, nothing in particular; I just find that you're really caring towards kids."

Darkness giggled. "You're the same way with Komekko though, aren't you? You see, I don't have any siblings, so taking care of children makes me feel like an older sister."

I shook my head. "**I** act like an older sister, **you** act like a mother; it's really sweet, Darkness."

As I said this, Darkness lowered her head sheepishly, her face growing slightly red in the process.

"I, I see…I don't really know what a mother is like…I have very faint memories of my own." She showed a saddened expression.

"I'm sure your mother is happy to have raised a daughter like you, flaws and all. Sorry to have reminded you of—"

"No, it's fine," Darkness interrupted, wiping away a single tear; she then gave me a vibrant smile. "Thank you, Megumin."

"Are we really gonna start by going out to eat?!" Aqua shouted as she barged into the dining room. "I think we should do a little shopping before we do."

"Shouldn't we leave it for later?" I questioned, finishing the remaining bits of food on my plate. "Aqua, you buy the most things, by far; who's gonna carry all of it?"

"Ah, that's a good point; we'll make your date, Belltruce-san, carry it."

"It's not a date, Aqua; I'm just accepting an invitation to a meal."

"I'm pretty sure that's what a date is."

I began to feel myself grow hot. "N-Nonsense, a date is an outing between two people who care for each other, so clearly, this isn't one."

"Hmm, I guess that's a fair point. Hey, should we invite more people; Darkness, how about inviting Chris and why don't you invite Yunyun, Megumin? Maybe I can invite Cecily."

"Please don't."

Darkness offered a suggestion. "How about Wiz?"

Aqua frowned in response. "Ugh, I guess I can have her tag along."

"Alright, I'll go and see if I can find Chris," Darkness informed. "She's a pretty busy person though; I wouldn't be surprised if I can't find her."

"I'll come along then," Aqua announced. "With my all-seeing eyes I'll be able to help you track her down."

"Alright, I'll get ready and then try to see if Yunyun's around. Try not to take too long, ok?"

Darkness and Aqua nodded; afterwards, they headed out.

"I've heated the bath, Megumin-sama," Irene informed.

"Thanks, Irene; you're really helpful. I feel kinda bad that there isn't anything I can do for you in return."

"It's unnecessary, Megumin-sama; I'm a maid. My job is to provide you with ample service and comfort; sometimes I feel I don't do enough."

I shook my head. "In my opinion, you do more than enough. I've never had the opportunity to be looked after by someone; my childhood was one of poverty."

"I see. Megumin-sama, I'll continue to do the very best I can to provide you with a positive experience; should the day come when I'm unable to serve you for any reason, I'd like you to leave you with a shining example of good service."

"I appreciate your dedication, thank you."

Irene bowed.

Soon after, I entered the bathroom. I felt a soft and warm feeling press against my leg and ankle and saw Chomusuke had entered with me.

"What are you doing here?" I said as I picked her up. "Do you want to take a bath with your master?"

She meowed in reply, peddling her feet against the open air.

"Very well. As my familiar it's only correct to keep you clean; after all, people can assume things about a person if their familiar is shabby-looking."

Several minutes later, after I finished bathing, I stood in front of my mirror checking myself. Though it was still summer, today was a particularly chilly day and with the climate control box set to cool the air, my room was colder than expected; as such, I was wearing a bathrobe.

I examined my hair for a couple of minutes, and then smiled; it was getting longer, in fact, it had already grown several centimeters since first acquiring the mansion. What used to be neck-length hair was now nearly shoulder-length; the majority of which draped along my neck, accompanying the two locks of which now rested upon my chest.

I touched my bangs; they too were slightly longer, almost long enough to occlude my sight; perhaps I should trim it a bit. I'll get Kazuma's opinion, and then make a decision.

I quickly brushed my hair, and then got dressed in my standard attire; this wasn't a special occasion so there was no need for anything flamboyant or flashy, my adventuring robes would do the job just fine. I flicked my mantle, the mantle that Kazuma tailored for me, and smirked at my reflection.

"The Crimson Annihilator, the Master of Explosions, Genius of the Crimson Mages, Megumin is ready for action!" I glanced over at Chomusuke who was staring curiously. "How do I look; are you impressed by your master's charm?"

"Meow."

"Umu, of course. Aesthetics is an important part of a Crimson Demon and my attire is amongst the coolest. I'm leaving now, so try to behave; don't give Irene a hard time. She's nice, ok?"

"Meow." Chomusuke purred against my leg.

I gave her a brief scratch behind the ears, and then picked her up and exited my room. As I reached the living room, I placed her on the floor.

"Have a good time, Megumin-sama," Irene said with another bow.

"Thanks. See you later, Irene," I said; then I exited out the front.

As I walked slowly through the city, I thought about the places Yunyun would frequent; there was Wiz's, where she would often help out, and then there was the adventurer's guild. She would often be there accompanying that thing; I spared a thought of Yunyun falling for it, but quickly shook my head; knowing Yunyun, it wouldn't take much for her to fall for such attempts.

I wouldn't say Yunyun was an easy girl, rather, her level of naiveté made it quite simple to get her to do things she would otherwise never consider. It was plots and suggestions like this that made that thing dangerous for Yunyun to hang around; it was quite adept at such scheming.

RING! The bell above the door rang as I stepped into the shop.

"Oh, if it isn't the silly demon girl with an affinity at tempting the boy who refuses to get physical for purely sentimental reasons."

I frowned but could feel the embarrassment slowly seep from me. "Is Yunyun here?"

"Megumin?" Yunyun said, stepping out from one the shelves.

"Yunyun, I knew I'd find you here." Another girl stepped out shortly after. "Gren-san."

"Ah, Megumin-san, nice to see you again; is Kazuma-sama with you?"

"Hmm, no, Kazuma's out. Yunyun," I said, shifting my focus, "are you gonna be busy; I wanted to know if you'd like to accompany me for an outing."

"Umm…" She looked at Vanir, and then back at me.

The masked devil gave out a hearty laugh. "Hmm, moi sees. Worry not, future leader of the joke clan of joke mages, thy aid was sufficient today; with thou new friend's assistance and the foolish shop owner out of the way, moi is sure to have a successful day. Just make sure to take that box of manatite with thou; Zereschrute is in need of that stock."

Yunyun nodded with a stupidly bashful look on her face.

I looked around and noticed that Wiz wasn't in; given her lack of presence and the fact that Vanir had pointed it out, it was safe to assume Aqua had probably gotten her to come along.

"Alright, come, Yunyun; the others are waiting."

As I turned around and began walking out of the store, Yunyun scrambled to pick up the box, and then rushed after me. "Bye, Gren-san, Vanir-san!"

I heard Gren reply with her own farewells.

After we got some distance from the store, Yunyun asked, "Where are we going, Megumin?"

"To find the others, after which we'll have you and Wiz teleport us to the capital."

"The capital; why are we going to the capital? Just what's this outing for? Is this another one your schemes to get Iris-sama out of the castle?!"

"No, this has nothing to do with that. Today all we'll be doing is hanging out, and then going to get some food with some guy I met yesterday."

Yunyun dropped the box, a dismayed expression adorning her face.

"Oi, Yunyun, you—"

She quickly grabbed my robes and shook me fiercely. "W-What happened; did you and Kazuma-kun break up already?!"

I was slightly startled by her outburst, but I regained my composure and pushed her away. "No, you dumb girl, I was merely offered a free meal; how could I refuse?"

"D-Does Kazuma-kun know about this?"

I nodded.

"He, he actually agreed?"

I nodded once again.

Yunyun sighed in relief, picking up the box there after. The sound of shattered materials rolling around could be heard.

"…"

I sighed. "Don't worry, I'll cover the costs."

"N-No, I couldn't ask you to—it's my fault so I'll—"

"Oh shut up, I already said I'll cover it, so stop."

"B-But I'm fairly certain these are high-grade manatite crystals; they'd be pretty expensive to cover for."

"They would be, if they were intact, but obviously that isn't the case anymore. Just take out the ones that are broken and put it in your bag."

"T-That's stealing, Megumin!"

"How? I'm married to guy who owns those crystals; they're practically mine."

"I, I don't think that's how it works though…"

"Oh, stop fussing and just do it; if anything, I'll ask Kazuma to overlook it."

Yunyun, with much difficulty, did as I told her. Luckily for the both of us, there weren't many that broke.

"I, I don't feel good about doing something like that," She commented.

"Why are you still going on about something so unimportant; look, Aqua and the others are—"

"Ah, Megumin-chan, my sweet little Megumin-chan!"

I quickly pivoted and began walking away, seconds later, I felt someone crash into my back and lift me off the ground.

"Oh, how I missed this beautiful, soft body!" She said, rubbing her face into my back.

Such comments could only belong to the questionable onee-san I had the misfortune of knowing, Cecily-san.

"Ugh." I struggled to break free from her, but she held on to me with, as usual, ridiculous strength. "P-Please let go of me, Cecily onee-san."

She gave a disconcerted sigh but complied. "Yunyun-chan, it's good to see you as well; come, give your onee-chan a hug."

Yunyun laughed nervously. "No, no, as you can see, I have my hands full with an important package."

"Took you long enough," Aqua said as she walked up with Darkness, Chris, and Wiz.

"Umu. I see everyone is here. We should get on our way to the capital; Wiz, Yunyun, will you two do the honors?"

"I have no problem doing it, Megumin-san," Wiz replied, "but who will go with who?"

Everyone looked between each other, but I gave a swift answer. "Wiz, you'll teleport, Aqua, Darkness, Chris, and Cecily-san—"

"I refuse," Cecily said succinctly. "I refuse to be away from you any longer, Megumin-chan! I don't want to be away from such a beautiful little girl!"

"_Ugh, Axis cultists are such a pain to deal with._ Cecily onee-chan, can you please just go with Wiz; we'll literally see each other in just a moment."

Cecily sighed dejectedly. "Fine. It's not all bad; I'll be with Aqua-sama during the duration of the journey."

"Alright, see you guys in the capital."

A moment later, they were gone.

"Alright, Yunyun, our turn."


	7. Chapter 6: The Outing

**Chapter 6: The Outing**

**Part 1**

Yunyun started her chant and the world quickly spun around us; a moment later, the feeling ceased. We were in the capital, standing in front of the Royal Palace.

"Hmm, where are the others?" Yunyun queried as she looked around.

"Wiz likely doesn't have this area marked for Teleportation, which means they're probably near the main gates," I replied. "No worries, we can catch up with them later; let's drop this stuff off before we have Aqua in the group."

"Ah, yeah, good thinking, Megumin."

And so, after some more walking, we made it to the Devilishly Good Magic Shop.

"Here we are," I said, approaching the door. "Now let's hurry and—"

"SACRED HIGH EXCORCISM!"

"GYAHHHH!"

"Ah, I missed; sit still, will you?!" Aqua yelled, angrily trying to track the poor devil who was now running for cover.

"Wiz-san, L-Lady Dustiness, please, help me! HELP ME!"

"Zereschrute-san," Wiz said worriedly; she was obviously torn between helping the devil and not getting involved.

Darkness showed a similar expression.

"Aqua-sama!" Cecily yelled, "Me and this Eris-cultist will hold down the devil; please, use that chance to send it back to—"

"Hey!" I yelled. "All of you stop!"

"Ah, Megumin-chan!" Cecily quickly turned to me. "Are you here to help us slay this devil as well?"

"While I'm not one to defend devils and their kind, this one is necessary."

"Necessary?" Chris and Cecily said in unison.

"Hey, Megumin," Chris continued, "you're joking, right? Undead, devils, and demons must all be exterminated—no exceptions."

Glancing at Wiz, I could see she was visibly nervous. "It's not a joke; Besides other reasons, Kazuma needs him alive."

Darkness placed a hand on Chris' shoulder. "It's true. Ahem, I know you have your reasons for wanting to eliminate him, but let's not forget that Lord Zereschrute is still a noble of the kingdom."

"Nobles go missing from time to time," Chris retorted.

I flinched as she said something so uncharacteristic.

"No one will shed a tear for this one who's a devil in disguise," She continued.

"Chris!" Darkness yelled angrily.

She frowned sharply, and with a deep breath, relaxed. "Fine. Seems like me and Kazuma-kun are gonna have a talk next time we meet."

"Yunyun, what are you doing standing there?" I said. "Hurry up and give him what we came for."

"Uh, oh, right."

Yunyun quickly walked over to the counter Zereschrute was hiding behind and placed the box down. "Umm, this is the manatite shipment Vanir-san asked me to bring you."

The devil slowly looked out from behind the counter, his eyes darting nervously between the box at his feet and his would-be executioners.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat, and then proudly stepped out. "Ah, you must be Yunyun-san. I remember you; the sensible one. It seems you still help out at the shop."

"Ah, yes," Wiz said, "Yunyun-san is incredibly helpful; I'm glad you decided to help us, Yunyun-san."

Again, Yunyun showed a timid smile as she basked in praise.

I spoke up. "Well then, it seems our task here is complete; let's go pick up our mark."

"TURN UNDEAD!"

"GYAAAA!"

The tormented devil lay writhing on the floor; the suit it wore smoking from Aqua's holy power.

"Aqua, was that really necessary?" I said with a knit brow.

"What, I didn't kill it; it should be thankful that I showed mercy on it's disgusting existence."

I sighed. Well, she was right; at least Zereschrute was still alive…barely.

Leaving the shop behind us, our now, seven-strong group headed to the Royal Smith's shop to pick up the target of this morning's business. As we arrived, the two sentries at the door gave us a curious glance but otherwise did nothing. We entered.

"Welcome to the Royal Smith's, are you all in a group? How may I help you?"

This was a different person; a man, older, seemingly more proficient at his job. He gave the presence of an old male butler, sort of like the one who was Kazuma's beck and call back when he stayed at the palace; Heidel, I believe his name was.

I cleared my throat. "My name is Megumin; we're here because Belladeux-san has promised to take me out for a meal."

"Oh. Belladeux-san…I see." The man gave a faint smile. "Very well, Megumin-san, let me go and fetch him; he's in the back room."

"Umu."

The attendant oji-san headed toward the back of the shop and disappeared. When I turned around, the others were already scattered throughout the shop looking at the multiple wares.

"Look, Darkness, this weapon is amazing," I overheard Chris say. "I've never really seen anything like this; even my own dagger seems cheap by comparison."

Darkness chuckled. "Well, if the price tag is anything to go by, I'm sure it would be."

"Umu, still the level of craftsmanship is obvious; even someone with an untrained eye could see it. Amazing."

I looked over at the stave section; the loner girl, Yunyun was staring at the selections. I wandered over.

"Still looking at things like this?"

"Oh, Megumin."

"Can you even afford any of these, Yunyun?"

"Not currently, no."

"Oh, so you plan on getting one in the future?"

"Perhaps. Look, that wand in the back; it's quite cute isn't it?"

"Cute; a weapon must look cool, intimidating, or be powerful, not cute, Yunyun. Preferably also be black or red, or a combination of these factors; having all of them would be the best. Take my staff for instance, it's perfect; it's the complete embodiment of a Crimson Demon's aesthetic."

"Your staff; where is it, actually?"

Suddenly, I just noticed the absence of my staff. "Oh, right, I actually left it here; it's being upgraded by the Royal Smith."

"Megumin-sama!" It was the voice of the boy whom offered me a free meal.

"Ah, Belladeux-san."

"Umm, are you…wait, are all these people with you?"

I nodded. "They will accompany us today."

"Uhh, I-I thought this was to be a private meal between us."

"Huh, why would you think that?"

"Uh, well…umm…n-nevermind, it's fine. Megumin-sama, you seem to surround yourself with quite the selection of friends."

"Hmm, sure. Let me start by introducing this one; introduce yourself girl who should introduce herself if she really calls herself a Crimson Demon."

"W-What are you saying, Megumin?!" Yunyun frowned before turning her focus on our quarry. "N-Nice to meet you, Belladeux-san. My name is Yunyun."

"Yunyun; quite the peculiar name, but I suppose it's normal since you're a Crimson Demon."

Even as her name was ridiculed, Yunyun fidgeted nervously.

"Please don't touch the wares," the older attendant said.

I looked over and saw him speaking with Aqua's group, namely Cecily.

"How am I supposed to tell if this weapon is actually good or not if I can't touch it? Maybe you're selling fake weapons."

"Madam, I assure you, this is the Royal Smith's, **nothing** in here is fake. Now would you please stop touching the products?"

"I agree with Cecily's complaint. Wiz, you have an eye for items; why don't you tell this man what you think about such a dumb policy."

"A-Aqua-sama, I really think we shouldn't—"

"Cecily onee-san," I said as I walked over with the other two, "would you please stop causing trouble? Sorry," I said, turning to the oji-san, "she's an Axis Cultist."

"Megumin!" Aqua shouted.

"Megumin-chan, why would you say that, it hurts my feelings when you say such things in contempt."

I sighed, and then turned to Belladeux-san. "You've already met Aqua yesterday. This is Wiz; she owns a magic shop in Axel, and this is"—I sighed once again—"this is Cecily-san."

"Ohhh, and who's this, Megumin-chan? I thought you were already had a man. Are you trying to build a stable of men to choose—"

"W-What exactly do you take me for?! No, this is Belladeux-san; he invited me to lunch, so I've taken him up on his offer."

"Oh, so is that all it takes to spend the day with Megumin-chan; next time I'll be sure to employ such methods; use the promise of food to get Megumin-chan to do what you want, right, right."

"No, not right! I'm not bribed by the promise of food; stop saying ridiculous things!"

I could just catch Yunyun look away as I proclaimed this.

"Oh, Megumin, is this the guy?" I heard Chris say from behind me.

"Umu. Belladeux-san, this is Chris." She gave a smile and wave. "And this is Darkness, but you probably know her as Lady Dustiness."

Suddenly, he shirked back. "Ah, oh, Lady Dustiness, forgive me; you look so different in armor."

"Belladeux," Darkness mumbled, rubbing her chin. "I feel I've heard of this name before."

"Ah, well, I'd be most humbled if you did; the Belladeux family are not as affluent as the prestigious Dustiness family."

"Ah, right, I remember; Orrinthal Belladeux is your father and the current head, right?"

"U-Uh, yes."

"Hmm, I seem to recall he and my own father had a minor dispute some time ago; didn't it result in your house being demoted?"

The boy looked away; there was a mixture of embarrassment and anger expressed in his face and eyes. "Um, yes—b-but that's all water under the bridge!" He cleared his throat loudly. "Megumin-sama, shall we go?"

"Umu."

We left the store and, with no destination decided upon, began walking towards the city square.

"Megumin-sama, where would you like to go?"

"I'm fine with anywhere, really."

Aqua quickly interjected. "Ah since Megumin's not choosing, how about going to The Grandstar Restaurant?"

"The Grandstar?" Darkness said mildly shocked. "Aqua, isn't that a bit much?"

"It's the most expensive restaurant in the capital, isn't it?" Chris queried.

Darkness nodded.

"Ohh?" Cecily said with a mischievous smile on her face. "Surely, someone who promised Megumin-chan a nice meal would be willing to take her to the best place, right?" Her eyes fixed themselves upon the young Belladeux.

He smiled nervously. "Of-Of course; Megumin-sama is more than worth it." His nervousness disappeared as he announced this, being replaced by a prouder look.

"Ohhh, seems like you really like Megumin-chan."

He cleared his throat loudly. "Megumin-sama has shown me the error of my ways; I'm indebted to her." He said this, still wearing a proud smirk.

Cecily walked over to my side and smiled. "Megumin-chan, what will you do; this boy has proclaimed his love for you."

I shrugged. "I love only one person."

"Kyyyyuu, Megumin-chan!" Cecily grappled me and began rubbing herself on my body once more.

"Ugh, s-stop this, Cecily onee-san; t-this is sexual harassment."

"I can't help myself, Megumin-chan; you're much too cute! To think you would say you love me; it's almost too much to handle!"

Using all of my strength, I managed to break away. "No, not you, Cecily-san; I'm married!"

"It's ok, Megumin-chan; I'm fine being your mistress."

"Would you stop saying such weird things?"

"Wait, married?" our mark said.

I turned to him and showed him the ring. "Of course I'm married; I even announced this in my introduction; Satou Megumin. Why? Do you suddenly feel less indebted to me now that you know I am?"

"N-No, Megumin-sama"—He tugged at his collar, and then coughed—"I-I'm just a little…disa…n-nevermind. The Grandstar, is that where you'd like to go?"

"Like I said, I'm fine with anywhere."

With our setting chosen, we headed to the most expensive restaurant in the capital. Though Belladeux-san tried to speak with me as we made our way to our destination, Aqua and Cecily onee-san kept him preoccupied, assaulting him with Axis Cult propaganda. Had it not been for Wiz providing emotional support, I believe the poor boy's will would've been broken.

"Hey, Megumin," Yunyun said as she walked beside me, "Belladeux-san seems to like you quite a bit."

"And?"

"And—well, I mean—"

"Yunyun, are you suggesting that I give up on Kazuma for a boy who I don't even know?"

"N-No, of course not! I think you and Kazuma-kun share a special connection—"

"Yes, Yunyun, it's called marriage."

"No, I mean, yes, but that's not what I'm meaning."

"Then what **are **you meaning?"

"I mean that you and Kazuma-kun understand each other well; despite your…ummm…"

I glanced at Yunyun, my brows slowly closing together. "Despite what?"

"D-Despite your, your uniqueness!"

"Humph. I agree, Yunyun; I think me and Kazuma understand each other quite well. To tell you the truth though, I don't believe there's anyone capable of stealing me away from him. I really do love Kazuma for all he's worth…even if that value is drawn into question sometimes."

Yunyun smiled. "I'm actually quite happy that you were able to find someone like that, Megumin; I used to think that you'd always be alone…like me." Her smile shrunk, eventually disappearing all together.

"You're not alone, Yunyun. Well, I mean you **are**, but you do have people who care about you. So saying things like that isn't fair to all the true loners out there in the world; the ones who have nothing, truly nothing."

I could see a faint smile crop up. "I, I guess you're right, Megumin."

"Of course. Tell me, Yunyun, when have I ever given bad or false advice?"

She frowned. "Are you really sure you want to ask that question?"

"I have nothing to fear by asking you—"

"How about all the times you smuggled Iris-sama out of the castle; all the times you've involved me in highly dangerous and idiotic plots of yours?"

"…ahem. T-That aside, have I ever—"

"Or the time during the trials when you told me to trust you, and you ended getting me disqualified, **TWICE**!"

"…"

"And how about—"

"Ah, ok, ok, I get it; s-sometimes I may give you some…ahem, questionable advice; however, all of those times have been with good intentions."

Yunyun sighed. "You know how the saying goes, Megumin; the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

"That's a stupid saying; Hell has no paved roads."

"Huh, wait, really?"

"How should I know? Anyways, Yunyun the true question is…have you finally found someone you're interested in?"

"Ehh?!"

"Don't 'ehh' me; is there a guy—or girl; I won't judge—"

"S-Stop, shut up! I don't like anyone!"

I sighed. "At this point can you even call yourself my rival?"

Yunyun twiddled anxiously. "Y-You and Kazuma-kun haven't…" Her face and eyes grew a vibrant red.

Seeing Yunyun so flustered, a part of me just couldn't resist teasing her; I smirked. "I mean, didn't you walk in on us during?"

Yunyun grew so red in embarrassment that her nose started to bleed. She quickly wiped it off with her sleeve and frowned. "T-That time is still unconfirmed; I-I didn't really see anything!"

"Oh, you didn't?"

"T-That's right, I didn't."

"So, you didn't see me naked; or how quickly Kazuma threw the sheets over our bare bodies?"

Once again, blood slowly trickled out from her nose. Embarrassment permeated every one of her pores so completely that Yunyun's actions stemmed from an utterly overwhelmed mind; she covered her eyes instead of her ears. "I-I can't hear you!" She yelled.

"Are you ok, Yunyun?" Darkness asked as she and Chris caught up to us.

"O-O-Of Course, w-w-why, wouldn't I be, D-Darkness-san?!"

"Uhh, are you sure; you seem a little…"

"Flustered," Chris finished. "And is that blood; did you hit your nose on something, Yunyun?"

"N-No, I'm fine; I'm absolutely ok!"

Chris and Darkness looked at each other and then shrugged.

"We're here!" Belladeux-san yelled. "We're finally here!" He quickly broke away from Aqua and Cecily who were still assailing him with more Axis dogma; in spite of Wiz's efforts, it looked like he was on the verge of a meltdown.

As we walked up to the door, a pair of guards barred our entry.

One of them spoke. "Only those of special privilege are served in The Grandstar; if you have credentials or have been invited by a distinguished person please provide the associated documentation."

Belladeux-san quickly withdrew a necklace similar to Darkness' family crest and showed it to the sentry.

"Hmm, the Belladeux family…" The guard gave a slight look of disapproval, but quickly continued. "Are they all in your company?"

Our patron looked back, eyeing everyone but me; finally, he coughed and nodded. "Indeed, they are."

"Are they commoners; there'll be a fee for it."

"Well—"

I stepped forward. "Does it matter?"

"Huh?" The guard frowned at me. "And who—"

His partner quickly grabbed his shoulder. "Are you serious; don't you know who these people are?"

"Huh, who—"

"They're party who defeated the Demon King, and that's Lady Dustiness, you fool!"

"Ah, forgive me; I'm just following—"

I flicked my mantle. "It's fine; I'll let it go this time. You're simply doing your job, but this better not happen in the future."

"Of-Of course, s-sorry…"

"Megumin."

"Megumin-sama. Sorry, Megumin-sama." The guard bowed apologetically.

They opened the door and we entered.

Truly, this place was worthy of the title it garnered; the walls, floors, decorations—everything, everything appeared to be worth hundreds of thousands of eris in the very least. If one were to tally up the amount given all the items in this restaurant, it would easily amount to sums comparable to the royal treasury, if not, more.

"This…is insane," I whispered in awe.

"Welcome to the Grandstar!" the host said. "Are you all together?"

"Yes," Belladeux-san answered.

The host looked at us curiously, and then at Belladeux-san. He leaned in close and whispered something in his ear. After a moment, the host pulled away with a raised brow.

"I, I assure you, all of them are qualified."

"Is there a problem?" I posed; my eyes narrowed in frustration.

"My Lady," the host began; he didn't seem the least bit intimidated by my look, "I was simply wondering why you all are dressed so shabbily? Surely, you didn't plan to come to the capital's premier restaurant with such attires."

"Are you making fun of clothes?" I could feel true anger start to boil within me. "Perhaps, I should give a presentation of magic worthy of the 'best' restaurant in the capital."

Yunyun quickly restrained me.

Darkness stepped forward. "We actually made the decision on short notice; this is the first time most of us have visited this restaurant so we're unfamiliar with the rules."

"Umm, excuse me," Aqua said, raising her hand.

The host looked her way. "Yes?"

"Surely, I don't apply; my clothes were made in Heaven, so—"

"No, madam, you're clothing looks like it's…the only one you wear."

Aqua stumbled back with a wounded expression.

"A-Aqua-sama!" Cecily said, trying to bring her back to her senses.

The host turned back to Darkness. "Hmm, you're Lady Dustiness, correct?"

She gave a slight nod.

"Well, I suppose it's fine if a veritable person like you is vouching for them. For the next time, please be sure to come wearing proper attire."

I wanted to say something, no, do something about this slight; however, Yunyun was doing a rather impressive job of completely restricting me.

"What would you like?" the host said. "Standard seating, a booth, a private room, a table on the veranda, or the premier suite?"

Belladeux-san was about to answer, however, Aqua quickly cut him off. "The very best of course!" She retorted angrily.

"So, the premier suite; one moment while I check on its availability."

The man walked away, leaving us to wait for his return.

"You can let go now, Yunyun," I said.

She did. "Please control yourself, Megumin."

"Umm, sorry, Megumin-sama," Belladeux-san said. "These issues…this isn't what I expected."

"Well, it isn't your fault, Belladeux-san; that's just how things are. However, I don't see anything wrong with what I'm wearing, do you?" I spread my arms apart to show him.

"Uhh, well…"

I raised my brow.

"No, no, I don't see anything wrong with your attire, Megumin-sama."

I smiled. "Seems like you have an eye for aesthetics, Belladeux-san."

"Um, Megumin-sama, can you please call me, Orrin?"

"Hmm, sure, I don't see why not."

The host returned. "My apologies, the suite is currently occupied; I suggest a private room. It'll provide a more…personal experience and you'll have a private waiter to tend to your requests."

"Personal experience?" I said in curiosity.

"Yes, all our rooms come with silencing magic applied to the walls and door so the noise from the outside won't be a bother."

"Ohhh?" Cecily-san said, wearing a mischievous smile once more. "So, anything could happen in there and—"

Chris covered her mouth. "It-It isn't completely silent, right?"

The man answered. "Well, not entirely; there is still a little bit of sound that bleeds through."

She let out a sigh of relief, as did I.

"So, is a private room fine then?"

We all exchanged looks, and then nodded.

"Very well then, right this way."

As we followed through the restaurant, I looked around. Despite having the title of the most expensive, there were hardly any vacant seats. The patrons appeared to be affluent individuals, all of them dressed in expensive jewelry and gaudy clothing. Yes, this is likely what life at the top was, a constant battle to show off in every way possible; the mere fact of dining here being a statement itself.

"Your room," the host said. "Your waiter will be in a few; in the meantime, please look through our menu. Should you need anything please let us know via the magic orb at the end."

After saying this, the man left.

**Part 2**

The private room which we now stood in was basically a dining room. It was equipped with a large dining table reminiscent of those in noble houses, long enough to easily accommodate our party of eight. Even having seen similar things in the royal palace, it was still shocking to me to see such a thing in a restaurant; even more shocking was the fact this place had several other rooms like this one, and presumably an even larger and more extravagantly furnished one that was the premier suite.

"Well, we should take our seats," Darkness said, finding her own; Chris followed, then Aqua, Cecily, Wiz, Orrin-san, and then, finally, me and Yunyun.

"Is this your first time here?" Orrin-san asked me; he'd taken the seat beside me. Yunyun was on my other side.

"Umu. I'm actually surprised at how ridiculous this all is."

The boy smirked. "Me and my family used to dine here quite often."

"Used to?" I said nonchalantly; I continued to stare at the various decorations around the room.

"Ah well…certain…things, happened; because of it, now our station isn't as prestigious as before."

"Is it the thing with Darkness' father?"

He frowned deeply, then averted his face from my sight. "Yeah…I suppose it is."

There was a knock at the door and a few moments later, our waiter entered. He gave a deep bow. "Greetings, my name is Allister; I'll be your waiter this morning. Have you had enough time to look through the menu?"

"Um, excuse me," Aqua said. "I don't really see your wine selection on here."

"Ah, our wine's and alcoholic beverages are in the smaller pamphlet in the back." Aqua quickly looked through the pamphlet as the waiter continued to explain. "We offer a limited selection, however, all of it is of the highest quality, rest assured. In the event, you're unsatisfied with what we offer, we can also acquire whatever beverage you desire, for a small fee of course."

"We'd like a few more minutes to make our selection, if you don't mind," Orrin replied.

The waiter bowed and left the room without another word.

"Megumin-sama, you should take a look at your menu; don't worry about the price, I'll handle your meal personally."

I picked up the menu which was only two pages; one page had the breakfast selection on the front, lunch on the back. The other page had the dinner selection, desserts, specials, and non-alcoholic beverages.

As I looked through the options, I noticed something peculiar. "Umm, where are the prices?"

Orrin, who I assume already made selection, looked at me, and then chuckled. "I forget this is your first time here; there's no need to show prices. The assumption is, if you're here, then you're wealthy enough to afford it."

It made sense, but I felt quite anxious not knowing what the cost of everything was…even if I wasn't the one paying for it.

"Uhhh, here," I said, handing my menu to Orrin. "Please get whatever you recommend; I don't really mind."

He stared at me wide-eyed. "Are, are you sure, Megumin-sama? M-My house may not be as wealthy as it once was, but I can afford to pay for whatever you'd like."

I shook my head. "No, it's fine; just get me whatever is most convenient. I'm not a picky eater, but I'd prefer if it had meat in it."

He continued to stare at me in astonishment, and then laughed. "Megumin-sama, you sure are a peculiar girl. Ok, I'll get you something good. How about drinks?

"Drinks."

"No alcohol," Yunyun said, quickly interrupting.

"Yunyun, it's fine; everyone's here, a little bit won't hurt."

"You always say that, and I end up having to look after you."

"This time I promise, I won't have too much."

Yunyun frowned at me, and then sighed. "Please don't go overboard, Megumin; I know it's a difficult ask given your personality, but—"

"Oi, what about my personality?"

"Oh, Megumin-sama likes to drink?" Orrin asked.

"Hm, well not particularly; I mean, I don't mind it much, but it's not like I crave it or anything. Anyways, I leave it to you."

There was another knock at the door and once again, the waiter entered.

"Everyone ready?" He questioned.

Shortly after, everyone gave their choices and our waiter left once more.

As we waited, each of us began chatting amongst ourselves.

"Megumin-sama."

"Hm?"

"Um, y-you said you're married, right?"

"Umu, what of it?"

"…are you happy?"

"Absolutely."

"…ahem…your husband, who is he, if you don't mind me asking."

"Huh, you already met him; it's Kazuma."

Orrin quickly sat up, his face showing astonishment yet again. "Him?! He"—He swallowed deeply—"He's your party leader, right?"

"Umu."

"…why him though; is it simply because of the time you guys spent together?"

I closed my eyes briefly. This question, so many people have asked me; was it really that surprising to fall for Kazuma…no, it definitely was…at least from an outsider's perspective…well…ok…maybe in general.

"Orrin-san, he's one of the few people who understand me and accept me for who I am; he was amongst the first. He's also the only one, who, having many opportunities to get rid of me, never has. More than that, he's reliable when it counts and always comes through for his friends no matter the cost." I could feel myself smiling at the thought. "I love him more than anything in this world_…even explosions_."

"I, I see."

I sighed. "I know that's probably not what you wanna hear, but it's the truth."

He looked down dejectedly; his saddened expression morphed into a frown.

"Orrin-san, you did this because you like me?"

"…"

"Well, do you?"

"I…I-I think that Megumin-sama is…an amazing person; I've never met a girl with such a strong will. Honestly, when you spoke back to me, it was refreshing. I…"

I smirked. "Don't you think it's a little odd to fall for someone like that?"

"Megumin-sama," he said, turning to me with a serious look, "I'm gonna make you fall for me; I promise."

What little joy I had presently quickly left; I felt my face grow stoic. "No, you won't; if that's your aim, then you'd best give up on it, Orrin-san; I made my choice and it won't change. I've no interest in having a relationship with someone else."

"B-But maybe—"

"There's no chance; if there's one thing I can tell you about me, once I make a choice, there's no changing my mind."

He looked away. "I, I understand."

Following this, I began speaking with Yunyun and the others until the meal came. Orrin-san spoke little and struggled to show anything other than a defeated expression. The food was served in tiny portions with an emphasis on presentation rather than quantity. I was slightly frustrated at this, but Cecily and Aqua seemed to be the ones most perturbed by it.

"This is ridiculous!" Aqua yelled. "How are these tiny portions supposed to fill me up?! I want my money back!"

"I agree, Aqua-sama; although, I've never had the pleasure of eating such delicious food, I'm unreasonably angry at the inadequate amounts! I want my money back too!"

"Could you two stop?" I said. "No one's paid anything yet."

"Megumin-chan, aren't you angry; a beautiful girl like you needs plenty of food. Although you're already perfect in the eyes of your onee-chan, everyone agrees that oppai lolis are an echelon higher than regular lolis."

"Oh I'm getting angry, but it's not because of the food."

"The wine better be good," Aqua said, angrily pouring some into her cup; she poured some into Cecily's as well.

As I stared at Aqua and Cecily savor the wine, I noticed that Wiz wasn't drinking. "Something wrong, Wiz?"

"Hmm, what do you mean, Megumin-san?"

"Aren't you gonna drink anything?"

She smiled. "No, I don't drink."

"That's no excuse," Aqua remarked, setting her cup down. "Get a drink and just give it to me then; otherwise you'll ruin the festive atmosphere."

Darkness frowned. "Aqua, Wiz is being responsible; at least one of us needs to keep a steady head."

"Hey, Aqua-sama," Chris called out, "is the wine any good?"

"It is," Aqua replied with a satisfied smile. "Want some?"

"If you don't mind."

"Of course, all you have to do is join the Axis Cult and I could give you a sample of this marvelous wine; see Cecily's already gotten some."

"Uhhh, I think I'll pass."

"What?! Don't be like that, Chris; what's so good about worshipping Eris anyways, she's such a boring girl!"

Chris looked away; for some reason she was showing a demoralized expression.

Darkness replied. "Hey, Aqua, you shouldn't speak about a goddess like that, ok?"

"Darkness, you know Eris is my junior; it's fine if I say a couple things about her as long as they're true."

Chris hunched over and covered her face. I couldn't imagine her being such a devout follower of Eris; even insults towards her goddess wounded her as if they were her own.

Orrin spoke. "I agree with Aqua-san; what's so good about the goddess Eris?"

Aqua raised her brow as she sipped her wine.

"Belladeux-san, have you finally seen the light of truth?!" Cecily said excitedly. "It seems the Axis Order's words have penetrated you deeply, planting its mighty seed within you."

"Uh, n-no, not quite. I don't think I believe in any of the gods; why should I, I've received nothing but hardships from them."

Aqua narrowed her eyes but said nothing; she continued drinking.

"That's…unfortunate, Orrin-san," Chris said.

She looked sad; perhaps all the insults towards her goddess has made her feel so.

"I, I believe the gods are kind and sympathetic to our plights," Wiz said timidly. "Maybe sometimes things don't work out for us, but it doesn't mean it's their fault; I'm sure they love their worshippers very much…and even those who aren't so deserving of it."

Aqua stared out the corner of her eyes at Wiz, and then put her glass down. "Humph, would be sad to see you outdone by this girl given her circumstances, but it seems like a person like you is even less deserving of a god's attention than her."

"E-Excuse me?" Orrin replied in surprise.

"Belladeux-san," Darkness began, "I'm sure your reasons for thinking as such are your own, however, I'm certain the Goddess Eris isn't someone who'd give up on one of her faithful."

"Ah, of course, Lady Dustiness is one to think such things; after all, she and her house have been blessed immeasurably by the goddess, haven't you, Lady Dustiness?"

"Indeed, we have; but it hasn't been without struggle either."

I interjected. "I'm of no denomination, but it seems to me that you're placing blame on the gods simply because things aren't going favorably for you, Orrin-san; perhaps if you actually tried to solve the problems you're having instead of pushing the blame onto something else, maybe you and your family wouldn't be in the predicament they're in today."

He stared at me with a mixture of disappointment and shock, then looked away. "May, maybe it's true."

"Or you can join the Axis Order, Belladeux-san," Cecily said happily. "If you beg Aqua-sama for forgiveness I'm sure she'll forgive you for the defamation. As an added bonus, you can blame the dark goddess Eris for all the misfortune happ—"

Chris interrupted angrily. "I'd appreciate it if **you'd** stop **your** defamation of the goddess Eris, Cecily-san!"

"Oh my, I forget we have quite a stout believer in the dark goddess of deceit and misfortune."

"D-Deceit and misfortune?!"

"Of course, after all, she pretends to have things she clearly doesn't." Cecily pushed her chest out proudly.

"Ahhhh, I won't stand for this, you Axis Cultist!" Chris said, shooting up out of her chair.

"Wait a moment," Aqua said, sitting up. "I won't let you harm one of my most devout followers."

"Both of you just relax," I said as Wiz tried her best to calm Aqua, and Darkness, Chris.

"W-Why don't we all just calm down and enjoy ourselves?" Yunyun said nervously.

Chris stared angrily at Cecily; she took a deep breath and sat down. Aqua did too, shortly after.

"Drinks!" Aqua shouted. "More drinks! This all needs to be more festive!"

I honestly agreed with what Kazuma often said about Aqua; I don't really think she was the goddess of water…

Following Aqua's decree, our waiter was summoned. She, along with Cecily onee-san, ordered various drinks, some of which weren't in the menu. Several minutes later, our waiter returned with two others, all accompanied by a cart stacked with beverages, some non-alcoholic but most were.

As we stared at the ludicrous amounts, Darkness spoke up. "Is, Isn't this a bit much?"

"What are you talking about, Darkness; if anything, this isn't enough," Aqua retorted. "I'm sure me and Cecily could go through all this by ourselves."

And so, the drinking began. Needless to say, Aqua and Cecily were the ones drinking the most, followed by, surprisingly, Chris, Darkness, and then myself. Wiz and Yunyun were having non-alcoholic beverages. Orrin-san on the other hand, was drinking, but very little. He seemed to be keeping a close eye on the situation; there were more than a few times, I caught him glancing at me.

After nearly an hour, the majority of the cocktails ordered were gone, mostly due to the two aforementioned primary imbibers. Though I stopped early, I was still feeling quite light-headed; the same, however, couldn't be said for either Aqua, Cecily, or Chris.

"I, I think we're done," Darkness said as she looked at the three who were clearly inebriated.

Aqua was lying back on her chair, drooling and barely clutching onto the bottle in her hand. Cecily had her head down, sleeping; she was giving off a lewd smile as she did, presumably from whatever dreams she was having. And Chris, Chris was leaning groggily on Darkness.

"Belladeux-san," Darkness said, getting his attention.

"Uh, um, yes, Lady Dustiness?"

"If you'd call the waiter now, please."

"Umm, right."

After placing his hand on the orb at the center of the table, it lit up, and a few seconds later, our waiter knocked on the door, and then entered.

"We'll have the check," Orrin remarked.

"Of course, is it all on one tab?"

He promptly looked at us, and then coughed lightly. "Umm—"

"I'll cover my own costs if that's ok with you, Belladeux-san," Yunyun said quickly.

"I'll cover my own and Chris'," Darkness said thereafter.

He then looked towards Aqua and Cecily. "Umm, how about them?"

"Aqua's the one who suggested this restaurant in the first place," I replied. "You can break their tab up."

Though I didn't really mind having Orrin-san pay for Aqua's meal at first, making him pay for the amount of drinks she and Cecily both ordered didn't sit right with me.

He let out a sigh of relief, then shifted his attention to Wiz.

"Oh, I-I'll pay for my own," She responded with a smile.

I was curious as to how Wiz was going to pay; I don't believe she was so well off that she'd be able to dine in the most expensive restaurant. Then again, she barely ordered anything.

"Right then," he said, "I'll pay for this lady's meal and my own."

"Very well, I'll be back shortly."

The waiter left once more and after a few minutes returned with a device that looked similar to the one that makes adventurer's cards.

Darkness dug into her shirt and pulled out her necklace, handing it over to the waiter. He promptly pressed her crest into the machine causing it to come to life. After a couple of seconds, a receipt was printed with an image of the Dustiness family insignia. Orrin-san did the same and his own receipt was printed. However, there was a bigger issue, the rest of us didn't have crests, so how was payment handled in such cases.

"Um," I said, "my other companions don't have any insignia."

"Ah, it's fine," the waiter explained, "we take standard payment as well."

Yunyun pulled out a sizeable bag of money and handed it over to the waiter. Wiz did the same, though her coinage was considerably less.

"And the two ladies?"

"Hmm, is there anyway you can forward the costs to the Axis Cult?" I asked.

"Uhhh, the Axis Cult; we…really don't—"

"Would you prefer to have two Axis Cult heads cleaning dishes instead?"

He cleared his throat. "Actually, I seem to have just remembered doing something like that not too long ago; yes, we'll send the cost to the Axis Cult."

"Thank you."

Our waiter bowed, and then exited the room.

After waking Aqua, Cecily, and Chris, we left the restaurant. Although I expected them to be hungover, they acted as if they didn't just drink their weight in alcohol; it was something I came to anticipate from Aqua, but I was thoroughly surprised by both Chris and Cecily's tolerances.

"Well then, Megumin-sama, I hope you enjoyed yourself," Orrin said. "I'll be—"

"Accompanying us," Aqua interjected. "We're not done yet; the food was just the beginning."

"Huh? What are you—"

"We'll be going clothes shopping next," Cecily said.

"Clothes shopping?! I never said anything about—"

"Oh come on, Belladeux-san; don't you wanna see what underwear Megumin-chan likes?" She started salivating. "I-I know I'd like to."

I honestly thought Kazuma was the biggest pervert for a long time; spending time with Cecily-san reaffirmed me in my original belief that there were, in fact, bigger perverts.

I gave him a curious stare, but he quickly looked away, ears burning red.

"Cecily onee-san, please stop trying to entice others with the promise of getting a look at my underwear. Besides, I won't be buying anything; I have enough."

Cecily quickly pounced on me, once again entrapping me in a lewd embrace. "Oh, Megumin-chan, you don't have to be so modest! Come, I'll use the funds our patrons donate to get you something nice."

"Eh, that's embezzlement! I don't want anything with that type of money!" I quickly looked at Aqua. "Hey, Aqua, are you ok with this?"

"As long as there's enough for me, I don't mind; after all, Cecily is part of the Axis Order, so it only stands to reason that a portion of the money is also hers."

Of course, such twisted way of thinking could only belong to an Axis Cultist; I didn't have to look at everyone else to know we all shared the same thought.

"N-No," Orrin-san began to say, "thank you for inviting me, however, I think I'll—"

"What a shame," Cecily remarked. "I actually thought you and I shared our love for Megumin-chan; I see now that you're perfectly fine with letting her carry all the heavy bags we'll be getting."

Orrin-san stared at me with desperation. Finally, I broke free from Cecily's hold and fixed my disheveled robe.

"You're free to go if you don't feel like coming along, Orrin-san; you promised me a meal and have delivered on your word, so…there's no need for you to stay."

"Ah…w-well, if, if Megumin-sama would like me to come along…I suppose…"

"I don't really mind; I'll be tagging along for the most part."

He looked at me, and then the others. "…I'll…go."

Aqua clapped her hands together and smiled. "Perfect. Now let's go."

_**-Later that day; just past noon…**_

"Is, is this the last store; please, let this be the last one," Orrin said tiredly; he held onto a mountain of bags, while several more dangled off his arms.

"Something wrong, Darkness?" I asked. She'd been staring sternly at Orrin for the past couple of minutes.

"Just look at him; the poor boy is struggling with the weight of all the things we've bought."

"Umu. To be honest, I feel a little bad about it."

Darkness closed her eyes tightly, her face showing a pain looked.

"Does it bother you that much, Darkness?"

"Of course it does!" She retorted.

I was surprised by her sudden outburst.

"That should be me, Megumin!"

"…" I was wondering where the Darkness we've known for so long has gone. "Darkness, it isn't like he's carrying everything; I mean he's only carrying Aqua's and Cecily-san's things."

I said Cecily's, but in reality, she just bought more things for Aqua and had, on several occasions, tried to buy me questionable-looking clothing…mostly underwear…or what I assumed to be underwear.

"Hey, Megumin." Yunyun walked over to my side.

"Hmm, what is it, Yunyun?"

"Are you really not gonna buy anything?"

"What for; I have enough clothing, Yunyun."

"So, there's nothing you want?"

I raised my brow and stared at Yunyun, then slowly smirked. "Yunyun, are you trying to get me something; it's a little early for my birthday."

She frowned. "I-I'm just curious; for someone who grew up with very little you sure don't buy much."

"Hmm, most of my needs have already been taken care of, but that's not to say there isn't anything I'd want to get; just nothing in particular. There **are** occasions where I find something cool or cute that I'd like to buy."

"I see; Megumin is quite the saver."

"That's right; I even have an impressive collection of coupons I can use for special dates for even bigger savings."

Yunyun giggled. "Megumin's wealthy and she's still doing such things."

"Yeah, and what of it?" I said with a frown.

"I don't think it's a bad thing; it's the one responsible thing I know you do, perhaps the only one."

"Hey, are you looking for a fight, Yunyun?"

She giggled once more. "Unfortunately, I have my hands full, so I can't take you up on that challenge."

"Humph. I'll have you know, I'm plenty responsible, Yunyun; Kazuma even entrusts me with decisions concerning the house."

"Oh? By the way, Megumin, have you gone back to the village yet? Last time I returned your mother was asking for you."

"Uh, well, no; I've been busy as of late."

"I see. I'm sure your parents and Komekko will probably just stop by the mansion then."

"Umu, perhaps."

As we stood around waiting for the others to finish their shopping spree, I spoke once more.

"Hey, Yunyun."

"?"

"I haven't bought anything, but you have; what is it you've purchased?"

"Ah, well…" Yunyun began twiddling her fingers.

Her reaction piqued my interest. "Let me see your bags, Yunyun."

She quickly turned away, closing the bags tightly.

"Hey!" I lunged at her and began trying to wrench open the bags.

"No, no, stop it, Megumin, they'll rip!"

"Then let go!"

"No, you let go!"

I grabbed her chest and squeezed tightly; as per my expectations, Yunyun let go of the bags. I swiftly grabbed them and took a look inside.

"No, Megumin, please don't look." She covered her face in embarrassment as I withdrew an assortment of…well…clothing Cecily onee-san would probably approve of.

"W-W-Wha-What is this stuff, Yunyun?! I can't believe you actually got stuff like this; who is it—tell me! Now I know you have an interest!"

"N-No, it's no one, I promise! All of that is just…"

"Just?"

"I-It's just for me!"

I was stunned; my childhood friend and quintessential loner was buying such provocative clothing. "No, there's no way you'd buy stuff like this, Yunyun; who told you to buy this, was it that thing?!"

She flailed her arms about, her face growing redder by the second. "D-Dust-san has nothing to do with this."

"You're a terrible liar, Yunyun; didn't I tell you if you wanna lie to someone you have to look them in the eyes until they feel uncomfortable?!"

"S-Shut up! Why do I have to listen about such stuff from you of all people; Megumin's done worse stuff than I have!"

"You stupid girl, I-I'm not trying to tell you what to wear; if you wanna wear this stuff, fine, that's **your** decision, but it should be **yours** not someone else's…unless of course…that person's opinion matters to you."

Yunyun covered her face once more.

"Did he tell you to buy stuff like this?"

"D-Dust-san…Dust-san just told me guys think things like this are…appealing."

Once again, I couldn't stop myself from being surprised. Guys, not friends? Has Yunyun finally decided to get a boyfriend?

"Since…since when did you care what guys like?"

Yunyun looked away.

"Hey, Yunyun…if there **is** someone, I just wanna make sure they're good for you; you're way too trusting for your own good."

"…there…isn't anyone; I just…I just wanted to..."

I put the clothing back in the bags and sighed. "Yunyun, you're my rival, right?"

She looked up at me. "I—"

"Of course you are; there's no one better to contend with me other than the next in line for Chief of the Crimson Demons. Things like this, you got them because you're doubting yourself, aren't you?"

"…"

"I'm sure somewhere in that odd mind of yours you're probably thinking, 'I mustn't be pretty; Megumin's got someone, so how come I don't?' Right?"

"…"

"Yunyun, you're my rival, that means you're a challenge to me on all fronts, looks included, ok? Just because you haven't gotten something you've been aiming for doesn't mean you'll never obtain it. You have something I've wanted to for a long time, but still eludes me; it doesn't mean I'm giving up on it, are you?"

"A-Are you talking about my-my chest?"

"H-Height, you dummy! I was talking about height!"

"I-I suppose not. There's no way I'll give up on something before Megumin does."

I smiled. "Good. Now here." I handed her back her bags. "Save those for someone you like."

She snatched them away, blushing violently.

**Part 3**

"Please, Aqua-san, Cecily-san, I don't think I can go on," Orrin cried as he fell to his knees.

"Oh fine," Aqua said in a mildly exasperated tone.

He breathed a sigh of relief, however, Aqua continued.

"All you have to do is help us carry it back home."

"H-Home?"

"Yup, back to Axel."

"T-To Axel?!"

"We'll be teleporting back so don't worry."

Orrin-san looked slightly relieved to hear so, however, he still appeared exhausted.

"O, ok…"

"Aqua," I called out, "I'll go see if Kazuma's done; I'll teleport with Yunyun, see you later."

"Hm, ok."

Wiz began to cast Teleport.

"I'll head back with you guys," Chris said, walking into the magic circle. "I can't really stay in the capital for too long. See you later, Darkness."

"Bye, Megumin-chan! Bye, Yunyun-chan; Cecily onee-chan will see you two later."

Me and Yunyun looked away worriedly as Darkness waved. The next second they were gone.

"So, should we go?" She said, turning to me.

"Umu."

As we made our way to the Royal Smith's, we caught Kazuma on his way out.

"Kazuma!" I yelled, running over to him; Yunyun and Darkness trailed after me.

"Hey, Kazuma, how did it go?" Darkness asked.

"Tough stuff, but it was really cool and interesting; I saw him working on our gear."

"Ohhh, how's my staff?"

"Hmm, from what I saw, it's looking great; after a while he stopped working on them and we started practicing on some other weapons."

" I see," Darkness with a smile. "Seems like you enjoyed yourself."

"Umu. How about you guys? How'd your day out with that guy go?"

I shrugged. "It wasn't bad; although, I'm glad everyone else tagged along."

"Oh, was he that boring?"

"Hmm, I don't know; although I have a feeling if it was just us two, it probably would be."

"Hmm, that so? Well, I'm pretty hungry; how about we get something to eat?"

I grabbed his hand. "Let's head back home; I'll make something for all of us."

Darkness spoke. "Knowing Irene, I'm pretty sure she's made something already."

"Hm, probably, but I wanna make something for us; if she has, we'll just eat it for dinner or tomorrow."

"Fair enough."

"I don't really care," Kazuma said with a shrug. "I'm hungry."

"Right then," I replied. "Take us back to Axel, Yunyun."

Once we arrived, Yunyun said her goodbyes and we continued to the mansion.

Kazuma sighed as the front yard came into view. "Feels like I've been gone for a long time. Ugh, I'm tired and hungry."

"Don't worry, I'll make us some of my vaunted crawfish soup."

"Crawfish soup, don't you mean lobster?"

"Lobster, crawfish, same thing."

"Hardly." I frowned.

"Ah, Megumin-sama." It was Orrin-san.

"Oh, it's you," Kazuma said.

"Orrin Belladeux is my name," He retorted. "And you must be, Satou Kazuma."

"Umu."

"You're lucky…"

"Yeah, that's what everyone keeps saying, but…"

"Megumin-sama," He said, turning to me with a stern look on his face. "I haven't given up; I won't! I know you may not approve of my persistence, but—"

"I can't tell you how to feel, Orrin-san; however, I already told you how **I** do. It won't change; you're wasting your time. I suggest you focus those feelings towards someone else; someone who **isn't** married."

He swiftly looked away. After a few moments, he cleared his throat. "Have a good day, Satou-san, Lady Dustiness…Megumin-sama." Then he walked off.

"Welcome home, Lalatina-sama, Megumin-sama, Satou-sama," Irene said with an iconic bow. "I've prepared food for—"

"Thank you, Irene," I interrupted, "but I'd like to make something today."

"Of course, as the Lady wishes."

"Whatever Megumin makes you're welcome to have," Darkness added. "Right, Megumin?"

"Of course. I'm making it for everyone; that also includes you, Irene."

"Thank you."

Kazuma fell onto the couch and sighed. "I'm gonna take a nap; wake me up when food's ready."

"Umu. Irene."

"Yes, Megumin-sama?"

"Would you like to help me?"

"If you wish, Megumin-sama."

"I do."

"I'll set the table," Darkness said.

"Megumin-cha~nn!"

"Ah, Cecily onee-san, what are you still doing here?"

"I was helping Aqua-sama, of course. Annnd also waiting for my cute loli to come home."

I knit my brow in disapproval. "I'm gonna be busy, so—"

"Oh, is Megumin-chan gonna cook? Ohhh, Megumin-chan is also good in the kitchen; you're making my heart melt!" She fidgeted wildly as she closed her eyes in imagination.

"Cecily-san," Irene said, "do you mind? The sooner we start on the meal, the quicker everyone will be fed."

"Oh, Irene-chan, are you also waiting eagerly for Megumin's cooking?"

"Megumin-sama's culinary skills are…quite good."

Cecily quickly grabbed my hands, cupping them in her own. "Megumin-chan, let me help, pwease. Your onee-chan is a pretty good cook herself."

"Oh?" I said in surprise.

She smirked. "Hehe, of course, who do you think cooks for all the lovely patrons of our church?"

I frowned. "I'm fairly sure you steal those meals from the Eris Church."

"Huh? What flagrant slandering; it wounds me that you'd say such a thing, Megumin-chan."

I sighed, pulling my hands away Cecily's grasp. "You can help out, but only get me stuff I ask for; please don't mess with the cooking, I'm doing this for all us."

Cecily stood up straight, hands on her hips. "Your onee-chan would never do such a thing; I also want to savor whatever liquids and solids Megumin-chan creates."

I shook my head quietly; why were Axis Cultists such oddballs?

_**-Several minutes into cooking later…**_

I peeked over my shoulder. _"Cecily onee-san has been behaving, but that humming…"_

While Irene stood quietly to the side, Cecily stood behind me humming happily; it wasn't that the tune was odd or anything (in fact, it reminded me of Aqua's humming) it was just the fact that it was fairly distracting.

Cecily stopped and smiled widely at me. "What's wrong, did Megumin-chan want to steal a glance of her beautiful onee-chan?"

I casually looked back at the broth that was now boiling. "Cecily onee-san's being distracting."

"Ah, well, your onee-chan is sorry, Megumin-chan." Suddenly I felt her arms wrap around my stomach and lift me. As usual, she smothered me with unrequited affection.

"Ugh, stop it, Cecily onee-san." I struggled to break away.

"I can't help myself. Kyyuuuu! Who knew Megumin-chan would look so cute in an apron? This simply must become part of your regular attire."

"Stop it; I wouldn't do something so stupid!"

"I agree," She said, letting go of me. "The less clothing, the better."

My brow was twitching and despite the annoyance I felt, I simply sighed.

"Is it almost ready?" She asked.

"Almost," I replied. "Just a few more minutes."

DING!

"The bread is ready, Megumin-sama," Irene informed. "I'll take it to the table."

"Umu, thanks, Irene."

She left. A few seconds later, Cecily began humming once more.

"So," she said, "have you been applying the love techniques Cecily onee-chan gave you?"

I twitched in surprise. "I-I never asked you for techniques; just a little bit of information concerning relationships."

In hindsight, it was a terrible idea to ask an Axis Cultist about anything, much less, advice on relationships.

"Hmmm, it's alright; your onee-chan knows you have an inquisitive mind. Besides, Megumin-chan's already at the age where she'd be curious of such things. Sooo…have you?"

"W-Why is Cecily onee-san asking me such questions? You're being very distracting, you know."

"If Megumin-chan is still very curious about certain things Cecily onee-chan is more than happy to help clear them up; I can even give you a one-on-one dem—"

"I'll pass."

A couple minutes later, the food was done. Cecily helped carry the pot into the dining room while I went to wake Kazuma. Eventually, we all convened at the table.

"Ah, what a dream come true," Cecily said. "This is the second time today I get to eat with Aqua-sama and Megumin-chan; I'm so happy. Truly, I've been blessed."

"Hmm, Megumin, did you really spend the morning with her **and** Aqua?" Kazuma said as he scooped some soup into his bowl.

"I have a name, you know; what a rude boy. Say, Megumin-chan, why don't you break up with him and get married with me? That way we can always have fun together, like today."

I sighed. "Cecily onee-san, your food is gonna get cold."

Despite Cecily's weird remarks, the meal was enjoyable. Afterwards, she left, but not before harassing me some more, and getting into another senseless argument with Kazuma.

"So, where'd you guys end up going?" Kazuma asked as we all sat in the living room.

"The Grandstar," Aqua replied proudly.

"Oh, did that guy actually pay for all of you?"

"Wait…did he pay for me?"

"H-He did!" I interjected.

"Damn, he's pretty stacked if he did; is he some noble's kid?"

"Umu," Darkness answered. "He's apparently the son of Orrinthal Belladeux; a noble my father had a falling out with some years ago."

"Oh, what happened?"

"Well, from what I remember, the Belladeuxs were a high-ranking noble family; they've served the crown for a long time. However, it was fairly common knowledge amongst the noble houses that they used…unscrupulous means to get to where they were. Orrinthal Belladeux served as advisor to the royal family just as my father has. Naturally, in an effort to garner more influence, he tried to smear my father's reputation; it didn't go as planned and he was kicked from the council and his family demoted to a minor noble house."

"Hmm, that much history with you guys? And a smear campaign? I'm surprised all he got was a demotion with the laws here being as backwards as they are."

"Normally such an affront would result in imprisonment or the revocation of titles, however, being a noble house with a lot of history they got away with just a demotion."

"Hmm, not unlike some things in Japan, really."

"Oh, is Japan rife with corruption?" I queried.

"Eh, well, not really, but there've been cases like that; a politician or some affluent businessman gets caught in some far-reaching scheme and all they end up getting is a slap on the wrist."

Aqua spoke up. "Really, it's like no matter where I go, there's always things like this happening." She was lounging lazily on the armchair, her legs kicked over the armrests. "Zell, honey, come to mommy; she misses you dearly."

Aqua called out to it, but the creature seemingly ignored her, continuing to sit on the small bedding that was made for it.

"Emperor Zell Kingsford come here right now! Don't make mommy get up…she's awfully tired."

"Ah, now you know how I feel," Kazuma remarked. "Even if it's only a fraction of it."

"Shut up, Kazumori! I'm a goddess; by default, I carry way more responsibilities than you do."

"Ah, one would think, huh? This must be conclusive evidence of you being one in name only."

Aqua pouted. "Maybe I should curse you, and then we'll see how much of a goddess I'm in name only."

"Alright, alright, I get it, you're actually a goddess."

"Hey, Kazuma," I said as I laid down, "have you been to the Grandstar before?"

"Hmm, oh yeah; I've gone once. Back when I had Claire's and Darkness' family crests."

"Excuse me?" Darkness said, sitting up from her seat.

"I tried getting in with my clout, but apparently they said I wasn't dressed appropriately. So, you see, I had to use your crest; thank you, Darkness, you allowed me to savor some fine food that day."

"You imbecile, why would you use my house's authority for such a stupid reason?!"

"Huh, I was bored and had nothing better to do."

"Ah!" Darkness frowned, angrily making a fist.

"Relax, once I get my own, you'll no longer have to worry about it."

Realizing this, Darkness calmed down, and sat back once more.

"Hey, Kazuma, when are we gonna go do some quests?" I asked.

"I don't know; probably not for a while. Besides, we don't exactly have weapons to do so, remember; Holt's working on them at the moment."

"Umu, that's right." I made a gripping motion with my hand; it's only been a day, but how I missed my staff already.

"Anyways, I'm tired and I have to go back tomorrow. Imma take a bath and head to bed."

"Alright," Darkness said. "I'll go after you. In the meantime, Megumin, can you help me out with endurance training?"

"Endurance training?" I replied in slight confusion. "I thought that was held during the festival?"

"Oh, it's not heat training; it's pain training."

"First of all, why would anyone willingly challenge you to something like that? And more importantly, why is there even a contest for it?"

"It's meant to come up with good candidates for the royal knights; having a high pain threshold is one of the requirements."

"Oh?" Kazuma said as he sat up. "Are you planning to join the royal guard, Darkness?"

"Of course not."

"No, of course you aren't, why did I even ask; this is because you simply can't pass up a chance to subject yourself to some pain, isn't it?"

Darkness tried hard to suppress the growing smile on her face with futile results.

Kazuma sighed. "Really, you're just…alright, I'm going."

Kazuma walked off, and then Darkness turned to me. "I'll be back, Megumin; let me get a couple of things."

"Umm, sure."

As she headed up to her room, I looked around. Aqua was already sleeping deeply on her chair. Apparently, Emperor Zell eventually roosted himself upon her bosom and was also fast asleep.

I smiled. I enjoyed our days like this; I didn't know how long they would last, but if I had any desire above all, it was to see them continue like this forever.

"Alright, Megumin, here we are." Darkness came down the stairs with several instruments in hand.

"Dark, Darkness, what is all this stuff?"

"Uh, t-they're just belts and rods; it-it isn't **that** odd, is it?"

"Alone maybe, but…" I looked away. "Darkness, what do you actually—nevermind, I don't think I wanna—"

"I-I just use them for occasions like these; for training purposes. That's right, I-I need to keep my body trained for my role, Megumin!"

I looked at the items. "Some of these look like they've seen a lot of use."

"W-Would you stop inspecting them so closely?! I've used them for previous training events."

"…right. Ok, so what do you want me to do with these things?"

"Well, I want you to hit me as hard as you can."

"…right."

"And there's another thing, come."

I followed Darkness to the backyard.

"We'll also be using this," She said, pointing to a large rock.

"Using this to do what exactly?!"

"I'll lay down"—She did—"and you roll it over my chest."

"In what world do you think I can move something like this, Darkness?!"

"Ah, well, I mean, if you can't push it all the way it's fine; the feeling of having something this rigid and heavy failing to completely go over your body would make for even better training, now that I think about it."

"Darkness, I—"

"Please, Megumin, not only will this help me win the contest, I'm sure it'll help us in future quests."

"I'm sure you'll win that contest even if you don't do any of this!"

"You underestimate the royal knights. Do you know they use boulders that require two people to push?"

"Wait, are you serious?"

"Absolutely."

"There's no way; something like that would squash anyone who isn't you."

"That's why I'm saying you underestimate them and overestimate my abilities; at best, I'm a mid-tier contestant."

"_Wow, are the royal knights really that strong? Amazing!_ O-Ok, Darkness, I'll help you."

"Thank you, Megumin, I knew I could count on you."

_**-Several minutes later**_

"Ugh, my hand is starting to hurt, Darkness."

"Ah, just a little longer, Megumin; try rolling the rock again."

"I've already tried; my back started to hurt."

"Just roll it over my arm—my hand, even my hand is fine!"

"Darkness, I think this is good enough; I know I said, I'd help you, but I really don't like hurting you like this."

"This is nothing!"

"Yeah, I know you say that, but you have to look at it from my perspective."

"B-But I'm not even bleeding yet."

I looked away. "Look, Darkness, I'm confident in your abilities; I think you'll do fine."

Darkness gave a dejected sigh. "Fine, guess this'll have to do; thank you anyways, Megumin."

As we entered the house, we came across Kazuma who was in a bathrobe.

He looked at Darkness who was covered in light bruises, and then at me. "Oi, just to let you know, I'm not into that type of play."

I threw one of the rods in his face.

After fighting Kazuma for a bit, me and Darkness went to bathe. While scrubbing ourselves, I looked over. Darkness had a pretty remarkable healing ability; while she wasn't completely healed, the slight swelling from the bruises had already all but disappeared. During the "training" I tried my best to avoid hitting her in the face, but she kept on insisting, so she had some light scratches that healed over as well.

"Ahhh, this feels nice, right Megumin?"

"Umu." I nodded; my eyes closed as I sunk ever slowly into the bath.

"Hey, Megumin."

"Hmm?"

"Your hair's longer, right?"

"Ah, you noticed?"

"Umu. Are you planning on letting it grow as long as possible?"

"Hm, I don't know; maybe a bit longer."

"I still don't get why you suddenly decided on growing it out."

I opened one eye. "Is it really that odd a decision? I just decided one day that I wanted to try and grow out my hair. My mother has long hair."

"Oh, that's right. So, you wanted to look a little more like your mother?"

I sighed. "Not really; I don't know if I want to grow my hair that long, but who knows, maybe I will."

"Even if you want to grow your hair out, you should still try to actively maintain it. See? Like right here." Darkness grabbed my bangs and parted them off to the sides. "It's a bit too much. Long hair can be dangerous; it can get in the way during a fight."

I touched my forehead, passing my fingers through my bangs. "I'm thinking of cutting it a little bit, maybe to how they were before."

"Wouldn't be a bad idea. If you do decide to, let me know; I know I may not look it, but I can fix hair up a bit."

I didn't want to say it, but Darkness was quite clumsy and having her wield scissors anywhere near my hair was something I didn't want to test.

After bathing, me, Darkness, and Aqua had some desserts; following that, we each went to our room. It was evening, so a little early for bed. Since this was the case, I decided to study; it had been several days since I last went to learn some more Japanese from Kazuma and I didn't want what I memorized to fade.

As I laid in bed reading, I sighed and rolled onto my back. I was bored. I wasn't able to let off an Explosion today due to not having my staff, and I wasn't able to go visit Kazuma since he had to be up tomorrow. Playing games wasn't an option since both Aqua and Darkness had gone to bed. The thought had made me restless. I grabbed Chomusuke who was curled up by my side and lifted her above me.

"I'm so bored, Chomusuke."

She cocked her head to the side and meowed.

"What do you do to cure your boredom, Chomusuke; tell me, your master demands an answer."

She promptly purred softly, and then closed her eyes, falling asleep. Of course, Chomusuke liked to sleep; when she's bored this is what she'll do. Unfortunately, I was having trouble doing that very thing. Defeated, I put my familiar down and allowed her to rest.

I reached over and grabbed my favorite plushie. I squeezed it tightly as I rolled onto my side. Staring at it reminded me of Kazuma. I smiled and closed my eyes, my empty mind was now filled with thoughts of him; I wanted to sleep with him, be in his embrace, but I also didn't want to burden him with my presence.

"Kazuma," I whispered.

I squeezed my doll once more. It wasn't him, but I tried my best to imagine it being so. Why was it at times like this he dominated my thoughts; I wondered to myself, when did this start to happen. It used to be that I looked forward to waking to my morning routine, that my mind would be filled with the thought of simply fulfilling this.

Now, when my mind idled, it would fill itself with memories and emotions of him. Was I really such an easily strung along girl? I wondered was Kazuma feeling the same? Eventually, as I continued to think about such things, I began to tire until I finally drifted to sleep.

**Part 4**

The next few days went by with more of the same routine; Kazuma continued his lessons, Darkness went out to teach at the school, Aqua presumably did whatever Axis Cultists did, and I, I tried to keep from going insane with boredom. If I had my staff I would've gone out and formed a temporary party to finish a quest or two, but obviously this wasn't possible.

At wit's end, I tried to sneak Iris out of the castle to play a bit but was caught by Rain and Claire; they gave me a harsh lecture. I then tried to convene our thieving group but noticed that we'd just be missing the majority of our key players. Finally feeling defeated, I headed to Wiz's shop in hopes of running into Yunyun.

"Oh? Why the long face girl whose joy revolves around completely useless things? Are thou upset that thy chest will never grow?"

"Wha-Wha—they'll never grow?!"

The devil who constantly embarrassed everyone laughed loudly. "Moi can procure a potion to help solve thee's worry; it is, however, temporary."

"I-I don't want something like that! I just wanted to see if Yunyun was around."

"Hmm, thy friend is not present; she and the new assistant girl have gone out to run a few errands for moi."

"Hey, if you keep using Yunyun to do stuff for you you should pay her."

"Thy friend isn't employed by the shop; she simply runs tasks as favors."

"You're taking advantage of her kindness."

"Silly girl, thou art one to talk; when hasn't thee taken advantage of thy friend's innocence?"

"I-I don't do that!"

Vanir laughed once more. "Thou dare lie to moi, a devil, a Duke of Hell?"

I looked away and frowned. "Whatever, if Yunyun's not here I'll be going."

I stumbled back to the mansion; all my options were exhausted.

"_Maybe I can take up a job?" _I thought, but if my past experience was anything to go by, I wasn't very good at anything other than being an Explosion mage.

"Well then," I mumbled to myself, "seems like I'll just have to study some more."

Reading was always an alternative for me. I had to keep my intelligence up. Luckily, I didn't find this troublesome; I liked learning about new things. Fresh ideas and different perspectives could make my Explosion magic more flexible; indeed, while the birth of elemental explosions wasn't a direct result from this, it wasn't an unusual thing for prolific mages or craftsmen to come up with new spells or items as a result of reading. Unfortunately for me, I had already gone through the backlog of books Aqua had lent me; this is why studying was my only option at the moment.

Suddenly, I stopped in place. "Wait," I said to myself. "Tomorrow is Aqua's birthday; I should go and buy her something."

I smiled knowing that I now had something to preoccupy myself with.

"Now…what does Aqua like?"

I began to ponder on the question. It really didn't require much thought, Aqua liked her drinks, but aside from that, she had a collection of uniquely shaped or colored rocks; perhaps I could buy her something of the sort.

I continued on. _"Books," _I thought. Aqua lent me books. Most of them were romance novels, dramas, comedies and the like; however, I don't think I've ever seen her reading something outside these categories.

Clothes. This was an odd one; Aqua loved to go shopping for clothing, but I rarely seen her wear anything other her usual blue robes and her pajamas. Plus, she went on a shopping spree a few days ago; I doubt she would be in need of new clothing.

"Hey, you, little girl!"

I sharply turned my head in the direction of the yelling and looked around.

"Yes, hey, I'm talking to **you**!"

I stopped and settled my eyes on an ojii-san sitting on a rug; on it were several items laid out. Setting aside the matter of being called a little girl, I said to him, "Ojii-san, are you a salesman?"

The elderly man smiled as he nodded. "That's right, I'm a traveling salesman; please take a look at my wares, I'm sure you'll find there's something even for a little girl like you."

I frowned but chose to ignore this offense once more. Instead, I focused on the wares.

"Oh, is this a focusing orb?!" I grabbed the item in question and stared in awe.

"Umu, that's right; say, are you aiming to become a mage, little one?"

"I, I am a mage; I'm an Archmage." I placed the orb back on the rug and smirked.

Standing up straight, I swept my arms to the side and quickly crossed them in a cool stance. "My name is Megumin! I'm the number one Archmage of Axel."

"Ho? Ah, red eyes and dark hair; you must be a Crimson Demon. A little odd seeing one of you out here."

"Umu." Taking a look at the products once more, another caught my eye. "Ah, ojii-san, how'd you get one of these?!"

"Ha, ha, I see you've an eye for rare items. I got it the last time I came to this town; it was on sale for a limited time."

I stared at the mask in my hands; it was the same mask that Kazuma used for his thieving activities. "H-How much for this?"

"Hmmm, for a cute little girl like you…how about two-hundred fifty thousand eris?"

"T-Two…o-ojii-san, how about a trade?"

"Trade? Listen here, little girl, I'm a salesman; this is my livelihood, if I'm constantly trading for valuable products how would I survive?"

"B-But I really want this mask."

"Then hurry home and tell your parents to allow you some allowance ahead of time."

I bit my lip in mixed emotions; this ojii-san hadn't stopped insulting me since the moment we met, but aside from the that, I really wanted this cool-looking mask. Thinking about it, I believe the original price for the mask was around half a million eris; having the ojii-san sell it at his suggested price was an enormous discount.

I clutched the mask tightly. "I-I can give you"—I withdrew my coin purse—"a hundred thousand eris and…this coupon to a hot bath!"

The elderly salesman looked as if he was about to yell at me, but then stroked his chin. "Hot bath?" He said.

"Umu." I nodded eagerly.

"Hmmm…well alright, you got yourself a deal."

I quickly handed over the agreed payment and tucked the mask into the small pouch on my belt.

"Hey, wait a minute; this is a coupon for the baths in Alcanretia!"

I looked away.

"Give me back my item!"

I quickly backed away. "Y-You agreed to this!"

"You little swindler! If I knew this was for hot baths in that city of lunatics, I would've never agreed to it!"

"A-Alright, I'll buy something else."

Still seemingly on edge, the ojii-san crossed his arms and waited, his eyes tracing my every move.

I took another look. Taking my time to examine what he had, I was impressed; there were a lot of good things here.

"Hey, ojii-san, what's this?" I said, pointing at an odd-looking stone.

"Huh, oh, that's not for sale; that's just a rock I use to keep the rug from lifting."

"Hmm, is there any way I could acquire it; I have a friend who's into rocks like this."

The ojii-san smirked. "Of course, it'll be three-hundred thousand eris."

"What?! You're obviously overinflating it's value!"

"Hey, you asked, and I told you what it's worth! Honestly, do children nowadays have no manners?!"

"Guh—I'm not a child! I'm actually married, see?!" I showed him the ring on my finger.

He raised a brow. "Ah, so you're not a child"—I nodded—"you're just obnoxious."

"Gah!" This old man… "I'll give you fifty-thousand eris for the rock!"

"Aren't you supposed to be an Archmage; why are you so stupid then?!"

I angrily grabbed the man's collar. "Oi, just because you're elderly doesn't mean I'll let those insults go! You'll give me the damn rock, or I'll tell the Axis Cult you're trying to sell their holy water at a low price."

"W-Wha, I'm not even selling holy water!"

"Try telling them that."

"Gah, not only are you a swindler, but you're also a harasser. Have you no shame shaking down an old peddler?"

"You didn't seem to have any shame in trying to oversell your merchandise."

"I-It's the cost of doing business; I have to stay competitive."

I let go of him and tossed another hundred thousand eris on the floor. "There's the original asking price for the mask; I'll take this rock for what it's worth."

I grabbed the rock and walked off.

"Hey, what's this? Are these complimentary tokens?"

I quickly ran away.

After getting away successfully, I began to look at the rock in detail; it was oddly shaped, taking the form of a tall diamond, but surrounded by a thick, white, gravely crust.

"Hmm, it certainly fits the bill of being odd; I wonder if Aqua will like it. I mean, it's larger than most of the other stones in her collection."

I picked at the surface causing pieces of the crust to chip away but even underneath this was more of the same. I didn't know too much about rocks, so I couldn't tell if this was just a characteristic of a common one or something unusual.

"Oh, wait, Master Holt…"

Being the Royal Smith, Holt was practically an expert geologist; I could bring this to him and at the same time see Kazuma. I grinned at my brilliance; I could knock out two problems at once. So, once again, I headed to the Teleport Station and made my way back to the capital.

When I arrived at the shop, I stopped; Orrin-san was probably inside…and I'd probably have to talk to him. The thought was a little uncomfortable but ultimately, I didn't really care much. He was the one with feelings for me, not the other way around; it would be more awkward for him than it would be for me.

I pushed open the door but to my surprise the one manning the front was the older attendant from before.

"Ah, hello again, you're Megumin-san, aren't you?"

I nodded.

"Are you here for Belladeux-san again?"

"No, I'm actually here to see Master Holt; can you please tell him that Satou Megumin requires his expertise on something."

The attendant gave a short bow, and then headed into the tunnels below.

As I waited, I looked around. Having recently been here, I was already familiar with the stave collection in stock, so I didn't go over this time. Instead, I stuck near the door and merely glanced at the various items in view. A few minutes later, the man returned.

"You're free to go, Megumin-san; do you know your way?"

I nodded, and then proceeded into the undershop. Taking the familiar routes, I eventually arrived at the private forge where I saw the two men, I made the trip for.

"Alright, Kazuma-dono, I believe we're done for now. Megumin-dono should be coming down in a few so—"

"Master Holt," I called out.

"And there she is."

"Megumin, what are you doing here?" Kazuma asked, turning towards me.

"I-I came to ask Master Holt something."

The man in question stepped forward. "Yes, Megumin-dono, what is it you needed?"

I held out the rock. "I wanted to see if you knew what type of rock this is."

Kazuma interrupted. "Really, Megumin? Did you just pick that off the street to use as a pretext to see me?"

Knowing that he was half-right, I glanced in the other direction.

"Hmm, Megumin-dono"—Holt was curiously eyeing the rock in his hand—"I…don't really know what this is; it isn't any type of ore or metal I've ever seen."

Both, me and Kazuma stared in surprise.

Master Holt continued. "This flaky crust on the surface is also some unknown material to me, but…it seems…very close to…bone dust."

"Bone dust?" Me and Kazuma queried in unison.

"May I ask where you acquired this?"

"I bought it from a vendor."

"Oh, hmmm…did they give you any background on it?"

"He said he used it as a weight for his rug, so it wouldn't lift."

"…"

"Oi, Holt-sensei," Kazuma said, getting his attention, "do you think it might be one of those legendary ores?"

Holt shook his head. "While it's not wrong to think that it could be, I'm fairly familiar with how the ores should look and feel, especially feel—even if I've never laid eyes on it personally."

"So, there's no chance this could be one?"

"It's highly unlikely. Say, Megumin-dono, do you mind if crack this open?"

"Well, I got it as a gift for a friend, but…go ahead; I'll get her something else."

Holt placed the rock on his anvil and grabbed a hammer; lining the head up, he brought it down swiftly. The hammer and rock made contact, but the stone remained unchanged; not a sliver of crust flaked off, nor did it deform under the strike.

All of us stared in astonishment.

Master Holt quickly handed me back the "rock". "Megumin-dono, I don't know what you have there, but I know for a fact, it isn't a rock; not an ore, nor mineral."

Kazuma spoke. "Hey, how much did you buy it for?"

Once again, I looked away. "Uhhh, fifty-thousand eris."

"Fifty-thousand eris? Why would **you** of all people spend that much on a rock, well, supposed rock?"

"It's supposed to be a gift for Aqua's birthday."

"Ahh, I see; hmm, maybe she'll like it. I've seen some weird ones in that collections of hers."

Master Holt coughed lightly. "Well, putting aside the matter of that curious item, the upgrades on your weapons are complete. The armor you requested is almost done; I had to halt my progress on it due to something quite special." He walked over to a small closet and pulled out a few boxes; two rather long ones and a medium-sized one.

Once he returned, Master Holt handed each of us one of the longer boxes.

"These are our weapons?" Kazuma asked.

He nodded with a smile.

"So, what's in that other box?" I questioned.

"This," he began to say, "is your"—he slowly opened it—"signature."

Inside, were three masterfully crafted necklaces bearing the insignia Kazuma designed.

Master Holt went on. "Took me a little bit; had to acquire some mithril to keep it lightweight, but here they are." He handed Kazuma the box. "Well then, Kazuma-dono, this concludes our lessons for now. Also, let me know how the weapons perform; if you're unhappy for any reason, don't hesitate to come back. Finally, the obligatory ring question; everything fine?"

Both of us nodded.

"Good. Anything else?"

"Nope," Kazuma replied. "Thanks for teaching me; I learned a lot these past few days."

"A pleasure, Kazuma-dono; I look forward to teaching you again."

We said our goodbyes, returned to the top floor, and then exited the shop.

As we walked to the Teleport Station, Kazuma broke the silence. "So, what was the real reason for you coming; it wasn't to ask about that rock."

"It was."

He glanced at me. "Ah, you're becoming quite the spender; back then you wouldn't have thought to—"

"I came to see you too…"

Kazuma smiled, and then chuckled. "Were you that bored? Wasn't Yunyun around? How about finding some playmates—"

"S-Stop it, I don't need playmates! _This man, treating me like a kid still_."

"Alright. Friends, how about finding some **friends** to help you get through those boring days."

"…I, I don't need any friends—any more friends…I have enough. Besides, the whole reason I was bored was because I didn't have my staff; if I did, I would've just gone on a quest."

"Hm, that's true."

"Anyways, I won't have to worry about it anymore; I have everything I require to stave off boredom."

"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you get one of us to help you with your Explosion trips; we don't need you bothering anyone else."

I smiled faintly; Kazuma could be quite dense sometimes. I grabbed his hand and rested my head on his arm. "Don't worry," I said in reply, "I can only do my explosions with someone close to me."

"Oh? When did you become so picky?"

I gripped his arm tighter. "Hmm, maybe when I started doing them with you."

"Ah, makes sense. Tell ya what, how about we go test out your upgraded staff? You haven't been able let one off the past few days, right, so, how about it?"

"Umu."

Some time later, after arriving back in Axel, me and Kazuma headed out to my usual explosion spot. I stared excitedly at the box in my arms.

"Alright, we should be far enough," Kazuma said.

"Ok," I replied. I hurriedly attempted to open my weapon box.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kazuma held the lid closed.

"What?"

"Me first."

"You first?"

"Right, I wanna see mine first."

I sighed. "Fine, let's see how your partner has changed."

Kazuma smiled in anticipation. He placed the box on the floor, and then removed the lid; the smile on his face slowly faded.

"Eh, that's odd," I remarked. "Doesn't appear to have changed at all."

Kazuma grabbed Chunchunmaru out of the box and began inspecting it; its features were entirely the same.

"Kazuma, why don't you try taking it out of its sheath?"

He appeared to be slightly disappointed but listened to my suggestion. As the blade made contact with the open air, it changed from its characteristic black, to a glowing orange reminiscent of the fiery coronatite core.

Almost instantly, Kazuma's face lit up like a little boy receiving the gift he wanted for his birthday. "Woah, this is amazing!" He said, swinging the sword enthusiastically. "Hmm, I assume it turns off when I put it back in its sheath?" Testing his theory, the molten color slowly faded as it was put back in its protective vessel. Kazuma smiled once more, and then gave a relieved sigh. "At least with Holt-sensei I don't have to worry about stupid things being added to it."

"How come I get the sense that you're making fun of my kin; the oji-san blacksmith would be saddened to hear you say things like that."

"Hey, Megumin, speaking of the oji-san, I seem to recall the blacksmith of your village being an old man; what happened?"

"Hmm, I don't really know; why don't you ask when we go back to the village."

"Back to the village?"

"Umu. I have to see my parents again; I'm sure they're somewhat worried about how everything's going."

"Your parents?" Kazuma smirked. "I know you really wanna see Komekko-chan."

"A-Ah, w-well, I mean, as her older sister, I'm sort of worried about her; she's always lonely and getting into trouble s-so I'd like to make sure she's doing alright as well."

"Right. I guess we can go to the village at some point in the future. Anyways, let's see your staff."

"Umu."

I placed my box on the floor and slowly removed the lid; like Chunchunmaru, my staff's outer appearance remained the same. To be honest, I was pleased to see this be the case; I liked my staff just the way it was.

"Hmm, looks the same," Kazuma said.

"Umu, but if your weapon's anything to go by, my staff's power should've changed as well."

I picked it up and immediately felt a resonating feeling in my body; the mana flowing through me was hot, but comfortable, like a warming flame in the dead of winter.

"Kazuma…"

"Hm?"

"Ah, I feel…" I sighed comfortably. "Umu…I can feel it, this heat. Kazuma, it's calling out to me."

"What is?"

"The manaflow." I grinned, and then snatched my eye patch clear. "It's here, Kazuma; the birth of my next flame!"

I swept my cape aside and thrust my staff into the air.

"Oh element of my burning desires come and join with me. Let thy scorching presence light my path and shy away the darkness. From the depths of the primordial, I summon thee! Combine with my deep crimson and set alight my burning blood. From the bosom of the fire god, Ignis, let thy fickle nature become the hallmark of destruction that burns my enemies to ashes. Your embers become cinder, thy cinders, flame. Flames a blazing sea that enraptures all! BLAZING EXPLOOOOOSSION!"

The crystal of my staff glowed white as conjured flames wrapped and twisted upon themselves. The fire grew exponentially until the vortex of heat distorted the air around us. Our breaths were becoming shallow, our skin moistening with sweat, our mouths and eyes, dry. Even our hearing was being assaulted by the roaring sounds of the intense heat wrestling amongst itself; the intense crackling and warping overwhelming our sense of sound.

Eventually, the massive fireball, launched itself towards the sky. Seconds later, the horizon turned a bright orange as my spell displayed its primary nature; the following explosion didn't release a windy shockwave, but a sweltering heatwave that threatened to set fire to any flammable material. Indeed, anything that lacked moisture was instantly set ablaze by the sheer concentration of searing heat in the air.

I covered myself with my cloak as I stared in awe and pride; I was beginning to feel my body grow weak from mana exhaustion and as I began to fall, Kazuma grabbed me and hauled me off. When we were a fair distance from the blistering explosion, he put me down.

"Geez." He said, breathing heavily.

"How much was that one?" I asked eagerly.

"Ugh." He stood straight up and stared at the dissipating fireball in the distance. "Hmm, this one is…a 75."

"A 75?! W-Why?!"

"It looks nice, but as far as explosions go, it barely counts as one. It didn't feel good; just felt really hot and uncomfortable."

Sighing in disappointment, I threw my arms aside and relaxed on the cool grass. "Your assessment is pretty spot on…as much as I'd hate to agree."

Kazuma nodded. "Still, I have to praise you; the whole reason you began working on this is so you can fill in for Explosion's lack of versatility, right?"

I flinched upon hearing such words; why'd he have to call Explosion magic unadaptable? "I, I suppose so...b-but that'll change once I expand the school of Explosion magic; I hope to make it so that there's always a situation where Explosion magic can be useful."

Kazuma crossed his arms. "That's honestly a scary thought."

I frowned.

"Then again, if anyone is gonna do something so ridiculous, it could only be you; the crazy explosion girl with some screws loose."

"Oi, are you saying things like that because I can't fight back; wait till I get my energy back, then we'll see who's the one missing a few things!"

"Yeah, yeah. Can you move a bit?"

"Yeah, I think I can actually." I stumbled to my feet; though I felt exhausted, I was still able to move.

Kazuma stared at me in surprise. "You're getting better at being able to withstand the draining effects of using Explosion magic?"

"I don't think so," I replied, throwing my arm around him as support. "It probably has to do with my affinity to fire."

"Affinity to fire?"

We began walking back.

"Yeah, don't you remember? I know you must've heard how everyone has some type of affinity to certain elements."

Kazuma closed his eyes in thought, a moment later, he replied. "Ah, yeah; I also remember your mom saying I had none."

"Well, yeah, you have none…but as far as my elemental affinity goes, it's fire and wind."

"Fire **and** wind?"

"Umu. It's common for Crimson Demons to have two alignments; quite rare outside of the village though. And it's not like I have a strong affinity to both, we Crimson Demons split our alignments into two types, major and minor; fire is my major and wind is my minor. In contrast, I have a major deficiency to water magic and a minor one to ice."

"So…"

"It just basically means casting magic of your alignment is easier and more powerful."

"And I assume weaker and more difficult if it's the ones you're deficient in?"

"Umu. Mana costs are different as well. I got particularly lucky; Explosion magic happens to be magic consisting of both fire and wind elements."

Kazuma looked at me as if he had an epiphany. "It would explain why you're able to cast Explosion when most people can't."

"Hmm, I suppose so."

We stumbled on in silence until Kazuma spoke once more.

"Hey, Megumin."

"Hmm?"

"Is making new spells difficult?"

"Very; there hasn't been any new spells for hundreds of years."

"But you're making new ones, aren't you?"

"I'm not making new spells," I answered mildly agitated. "They're just variations of the Explosion spell; not something entirely new."

"Hmm, I see."

"Why would I anyways? Explosion magic is the best there is; there'd be no point."

Kazuma sighed. "Yeah, yeah…"

**Part 5**

We arrived at the gates of Axel and as we headed towards the mansion, I tugged on Kazuma's arm.

"Hmm, what is it, Megumin?"

"I feel exhausted; can you carry me?"

"Huh, we're almost home; you'll make it."

"Well, I was wondering if instead of going back home, we could go pick up Darkness; should be around the time she's leaving the school."

Kazuma rubbed his chin as he considered my suggestion. "I'm actually kinda tired myself, Megumin. Not to mention, thanks to that new explosion of yours, I'm all sweaty; I'd like a warm bath and some food. Besides," he said, crossing his arms, "why do you suddenly want to pick Darkness up; we never do."

"Well, that's why; it's something different. Plus, don't you want to show her our new stuff?"

"Sure, but can't it just wait till she gets back? Anyways, didn't you say you were tired; are you really expecting me to carry you all the way to the other side of town?"

Kazuma made some fine points and I shared his sentiments on our current condition; we were both sweaty and tired.

I sighed in disappointment. "Ok."

"We're home," Kazuma announced tiredly as we stepped in.

Aqua stepped out from the kitchen. "Kazuma, Megumin…where were you two?" She said with a pout.

"Huh? We went to do Megumin's explosion; why, what's wrong?"

"Irene isn't here."

"Ok, so?"

"Kazuma, you idiot, who's gonna help me with the gardening, attending to my faithful, and the food?!"

"You **do** know you had people helping you do all those things before she came along, right?"

I nudged Kazuma lightly. "Don't be mean. Aqua," I said, turning to her, "did you find anything; maybe she's just out buying groceries or something."

Aqua pressed a finger to her chin. "Hmm, maybe…but don't you find it a bit weird; she hasn't left without letting anyone know before."

"Hmm, that **is** a bit odd."

Kazuma shrugged. "Hopefully she's gone for good."

"Kazuma, I know you and her aren't on good terms, but—"

"But what?" Kazuma replied, his brow knit.

I shook my head. "Nevermind. I'm going for a bath."

"Oi, I distinctly remember saying **I** wanted to take a bath; **you** never said anything."

"If you wanna take a bath, go ahead, no one's stopping you." I smirked faintly as I walked off.

"Oi—"

"I'll go with you, Megumin," Aqua interrupted. "I worked up a sweat while I was carrying out my deeds for today."

_**-Some minutes later…**_

"Hey, Megumin," Aqua began as she scrubbed my head, "did your hair grow?"

"Hm, ah, you noticed too? Yeah, it has."

"Are you gonna cut it?"

"I don't intend to, no."

"So you're gonna keep it like this then? Seems a little boyish to me; you need to do something with it if you're gonna have it grow long."

"Well…I don't think I'm gonna grow it much longer than it already is, but…I'm not sure."

"Well, Megumin, you don't really do much to your hair, so, it looks really messy; as a girl, you need to look cute."

"For who exactly?"

"For yourself, of course! I know you take me as an example of beauty, but even someone as remarkable as myself has to do something with their hair."

"…I'm fine with the way my hair is; I don't really like having it be complicated."

"Really? But I heard you had it quite nice during your wedding."

"T-That's different; it was a special occasion, so I had to look the part too. Besides, it was Claire who basically made the decision."

"Really? So, it should be fine to cut your hair as long as I tell you to?"

"No, of course not!" I shielded my head.

Aqua giggled, and then poured some water to rinse away the soap.

I relaxed. "I might decide to get a bit of it cut though."

"Oh?" She began scrubbing my back.

"Umu. When that happens, I'll let you know."

After finishing our bath, me and Aqua played some games while Kazuma took his own. Several minutes and a couple of continues into our game, Aqua spoke.

"Hey, Megumin, I'm getting kinda hungry; wanna go get something to eat?"

I put the controller down. "Shouldn't we just cook something instead?"

"There's barely any food in the fridge though."

"Are you sure; Irene went out to buy some groceries just yesterday. How are we out of food already?"

Aqua shrugged. "If that's the case, don't you find it a bit weird that she went out to do some more food shopping?"

"Eh, well…I mean we don't even know if she really did go out to buy some groceries. I'm pretty sure she just went out to do something else."

"Maybe…but that still doesn't change the fact that there's nothing to eat here; we should go to one of the restaurants nearby."

"Alright, just give me a moment; let me check what we're missing, maybe we can buy some groceries on the way back."

I headed to the kitchen and checked the fridge and cupboards for missing items; Aqua was right, there was barely anything left. In spite of this, there **was** enough meat for maybe one more night of homemade food. Vegetables could be acquired from our garden for the most part, but it was tough and dirty work meaning we'd need to bathe if we did. Since this was the case, I settled on Aqua's suggestion on going out to eat.

"So?" She said as I stepped back into the living room.

"Yeah, there's almost nothing left. We can go out, but let's wait for Kazuma and Darkness."

Aqua displayed a mixture of dejection and frustration. "We don't even know when Darkness is getting back; what if she doesn't come back tonight?"

"Do you hear what you're saying, Aqua? I'm pretty sure nothing's happened to Darkness; she's probably just busy with other things. She'll be back in a few, I'm sure of it."

Aqua pouted. "Fine. We'll wait, but if she doesn't come back in a little while, I'll leave her a note telling her where to find us."

I didn't really like the idea that Aqua was proposing, but I also didn't like the idea of going hungry.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, Aqua went to get to Kazuma who was still in the bath. I sat on the couch playing with Chomusuke when suddenly the front door opened slowly.

"?"

Darkness poked her head through the small crack and looked around cautiously.

"Darkness!" I yelled happily. I ran over to her.

"Shhh!"

"Huh?"

"Is Aqua around?" She whispered.

"Yeah, she just went to get Kazuma; we were going out to—"

The door sprung open. "Ok, hurry," Darkness said, waving someone in.

Irene quickly walked in holding a small crate; as soon as she passed the threshold Darkness helped her.

"What, what's going on?" I asked in bewilderment.

"We went to get Aqua's gift. Alright, Irene, thank you; I'll hide it in my room."

"Wait, but—"

Darkness swiftly ran by me, dashed up the steps and into her room.

"Uhhh." I sighed, and then looked at Irene. "What'd you guys end up getting?"

Going by the box, I assumed it was probably alcohol, however, Irene said, "A little something from the children of the school and orphanage."

I smiled. I forgot how popular Aqua was with children; it should've been no surprise to me that they'd get her something if they knew her birthday was coming up.

"Ah, Irene."

"Yes, Megumin-sama?"

"Didn't you buy groceries yesterday?"

She nodded. "Indeed, I did; is there something wrong?"

"Oh, well, there's barely anything left."

"Ah…yes, I forgot to inform you. Me, Aqua-sama, and Cecily-san went to give the children some food these past few days. I usually go to buy groceries right after; however, it seems I've forgotten this time, forgive me."

It was starting to make sense; it would seem that the children of Axel wanted to repay Aqua for her kindness and put together some presents for her.

"Stupid, Kazuma, I can't believe he—oh, Irene."

"Aqua-sama," She replied with a slight bow.

"Aqua," Darkness said as she came downstairs.

"Darkness? Where were you? Why is everyone just showing up out of nowhere? I wish you guys would tell me if you were going out at least."

"Oi," Kazuma said; he apparently finished getting ready. "Why are you always…oh, they came back."

"What's with that surprised tone; were you really expecting me not to?!"

"Well, you've been gone for longer periods before so—"

"Where were you anyways?" Aqua interposed.

I looked at Darkness; she was a terrible liar so…

"I-I was…I was…we were, me and Irene, we—"

"I went to pick up a package," Irene answered calmly. "Lalatina-sama assisted me in the effort."

"T-That's right; thank you, Irene."

"Of course, Lalatina-sama."

Kazuma looked between them; he didn't seem to buy it but remained quiet. Aqua, on the other hand, stared at them for a couple of seconds, and then smiled.

"Ok." She said, placing her hands on her hips thereafter. "Now that that's settled, let's go get something to eat; Irene, since there's nothing here, wanna come?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll make a trip to the market to restock our supplies; however, thank you for the invitation, Aqua-sama, I appreciate it greatly."

_**-A couple of hours later**_

When we returned from eating, I immediately headed to my room to change into sleepwear. Having gone out right after my Explosion "daily", I was beyond exhausted; even before going to the restaurant I was feeling fatigued, and despite Kazuma sharing a little of his mana via Drain Touch, I felt no better. I wanted to sleep.

"Kazuma," I said, knocking on his door; I opened it and entered.

"Oi, what's the point in knocking if you're just gonna come in anyways?"

I climbed into his bed and threw the sheets over me. "I'm tired."

He sucked his teeth lightly, and then sighed. "You could've just gone to sleep in your own room if that's the case."

I shook my head tiredly, and then shifted back some. "I miss sleeping with you; it feels better, I fall asleep faster."

I heard Kazuma gulp. "Quit it, would you?"

I knew what I said was provocative, but I honestly said it with benign intentions; I **did** feel that way. I closed my eyes and before I realized it, I had fallen asleep.

_**-Next morning**_

Megumin was still in a deep sleep when I woke up; this girl had gotten it in her mind to come sleep in my room almost every day. I know I said I wanted to do things when the time felt right, but a beautiful girl sleeping in the same bed as a young man…who could blame him if things happened? Then again…Megumin didn't really care, no, in fact, quite the opposite, she expected—wanted it to happen already. In this situation, I was the one preventing any forward progress from taking place.

These thoughts would flip from day to day, moment to moment; maybe she did or said something that would excite me, or, as more often was the case, remind me that she was still a young girl. Then there were times when I came back from the café and felt satisfied or days when I came back and was tired; in any case, that vaunted last step between me and her was a bit complicated.

However, today wasn't really the time nor day to be thinking about such things. No, today was Aqua's "birthday" and she was surely expecting a lot from all of us no doubt. Though I honestly wanted to sleep till the following day, so I didn't have to worry about it, she **did** help celebrate **my** birthday, so it was only fair that I return the favor…but not before falling asleep a while longer.

I closed my eyes and fell back asleep.

"KAZUMAAA!" BANG! BANG! BANG!

Almost as if she knew, Aqua was at my door banging away.

Shooting out of my bed, I ran over and swung open the door. "Oi, what's wrong with you, don't you know it's hella rude to bang on people's doors like that?!"

Aqua stared at me, and then tilted her head slightly. After a couple of seconds, she looked back at me, and then looked past me once more.

"AHHHHH, d-did you and Megumin actually do the deed?!"

"Stop being stupid; if me and Megumin **did** do it, you think I'd open the door?"

"Then what's she doing in your room?!"

"She tends to come over to sleep."

Aqua frowned at me, and then stared at Megumin who was still somehow snoozing away. "Well…whatever, that's not really important right now." She crossed her arms and smiled proudly. "I hope you know what today is."

"Friday?"

"It's my birthday!"

"Ah, right, ok, have fu~n," I said, slowly closing my door.

"Huh, what do you—"

The door closed shut. I turned back around and walked towards my bed.

BANG! BANG! BANG! "Kazuma! Kazuma! Hey! Open the door!"

I crawled into bed and threw the pillow over my head.

BANG! BANG! BANG! "KAZUMAAAA!"

I pressed the pillow against me in defiance. Then, there was silence.

"Fine." she said in a low tone. "I guess I'll just go over to the guild…that's right, I'll go over to the guild…and tell the guys and girls how you force Megumin to sleep with you against her will."

"O-Oi!" I pulled open the door at record speed. "Are you trying to tarnish the reputation I worked so hard to build up?!"

Aqua spoke in her mockingly sweet tone. "Now that you're awake, Kazuma-san, why don't you take me out for breakfast?" She smiled innocently.

"_This bitch…"_

After waking Megumin and meeting Darkness in the living room, we all decided to take Aqua out for breakfast.

"So, where would you like to go, Aqua?" Darkness asked; we were wandering aimlessly in the meantime.

"How about the bakery?"

"Bakery?" we all responded.

It was a surprise to me and apparently the other two as well; I honestly expected her to pick an outrageously expensive place.

"Umu, that's right; I've been wanting some of the tasty looking pastries and bread they constantly have on display."

"So why haven't you've bought any?" I questioned.

"Well, the baker has a thing against Axis faithful and ever since he's learned I'm part of the Axis Order, he's refused to sell me any."

"Seems like a reasonable man."

She frowned at me.

Megumin spoke. "While I'm sure the man has a good reason for thinking that way, I don't think it's fair to deny you service simply because you're a part of the Axis Cult."

"I have to agree," Darkness said.

"I don't buy it," I remarked. "Knowing you, I'm sure you've probably done something to earn the man's ire."

"W-What are you saying?!" Aqua retorted. "Why do you think everything's always **my **fault?!"

I was about to laugh, but I shook my head and took a deep breath. _"Calm yourself, Satou Kazuma, today's a special day for her; give her the benefit of the doubt. _Alright, let's go see this baker then; if what you're saying is true, I'll deal with it."

Aqua smiled happily.

After walking for several minutes, we arrived at the bakery in question.

"Oi, Aqua," I said as we approached.

"Hmm?"

"Why this bakery, why not go to another one? It isn't like this is the only one in Axel."

"Because! I can't allow them to get away with withholding something from my devoted faithful simply because they choose me as their goddess; that's as good as declaring war on the Axis Order!"

"Hey! Stop!" a man yelled form inside the shop.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a blonde-haired woman came racing out with arms full of different pastries and loaves of breads, so much so, that many cascaded onto the cobbled stone ground.

"Cecily?" Aqua said in surprise.

"Aqua-sama?"

"Hey, you!" A large and burly man came out of the bakery with clenched fists and a scowling face.

"A-Ah!" Cecily looked between Aqua and the man I assumed was the baker.

"Give me back my products, you thief!"

"I'm a priest not a thief, an-and I paid for these!"

"Paid?! You call this payment?!" The baker revealed a note in his hand; it read: Put it on the Eris Cult's tab. "This is why I can't stand you Axis Cultists!"

"W-What are you talking about? The Eris Cult always preaches about doing good deeds; this is a prime opportunity for doing something good! Today is the day of the Axis Order's conception, Aqua-sama's birthday! As such it's only right that those she watches over give her something back in return!"

"I'm not part of your crazy band of fanatics! Listen, if you don't give me back my things, I'm gonna call the guards!"

"Typical of you Eris cultists, always looking down on us, saying we're everything that's wrong in this world; you won't even help those in need!"

"W-What are you talking about, you cultists have a church with funds of your own!"

"T-This is true; however, we sort of…ran into an issue…you see…we kinda ran out of funds." Cecily stuck out her tongue childishly, and then darted off with Aqua.

"Arrgh!" The baker stamped his foot angrily. "Are you guys with her?!" He snarled.

We quickly shook our heads. Seeing this, the man angrily ran past us, presumably looking for the guards.

"Guess we'll have to find them," Darkness said with a sigh.

"Ugh, if it isn't Aqua causing problems, it's the Axis Cult." I closed my eyes and rubbed my head in frustration. As I opened them a moment later, I glanced over at Megumin who was silently mumbling something to herself. "Oi, what's up with you?"

"Huh—what?!" She said in a startled manner. "N-Nothing!"

"Nothing, huh?" I narrowed my eyes.

Megumin looked away nervously, her body trembling slightly.

"If it's nothing, why are you shaking, and why are looking away from me?"

"It-It's just cold; I'm cold."

"Oi"—I lowered myself to her height and glared—"you have something to do with this, don't you?"

"W-Wha-What are you talking about, I don't—"

"If you don't want me to drain you every day from now on, you'd better start talking!"

Megumin pulled on her hat anxiously, and then whispered in an almost inaudible and regretful tone. "I, I may have…forwarded the bill for the food to…the Axis…Cult."

"Wait, what? You mean the bill for the Grandstar?"

"J-Just Aqua's and Cecily's!"

I rubbed my chin. "Hmm, I can't blame you for trying to destroy the Axis Cult, after all—"

"I wasn't trying to do any such thing!"

"Oh, really?"

Megumin frowned. "I just didn't feel alright with having Orrin-san pay for **my** food as well as Aqua's and Cecily onee-san's."

I huffed in disappointment. "Well, I should've guessed doing something like this would drive them to do other ridiculous things. I swear, the Axis Cult has got to be some sort of curse on this planet. Anyways, let's go get Aqua before she ends up causing more trouble for me." I quickly turned on Megumin. "Even though this is **your **fault."

She lowered her head in resignation, pulling her hat low.

"Hold on, Kazuma," Darkness interrupted. "Do you even know where they went; Cecily took off in a hurry."

I sighed deeply; how could Darkness be so clueless? "Come on, Darkness, where do you think Aqua would go when she's in trouble; where do you think **any** Axis cultist would go when they're in trouble?"

Darkness looked down in thought. "I'm not—"

"They'll band together; people can usually handle one cultist, **maybe** two, but a group of them…I don't even think a Demon King could."

"So?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "Darkness, maybe instead of training that lewd body of yours, you should train that muscle brain you have; she's at the Axis Church."

"Wha-How, how dare you, Kazuma! I'm plenty smart, you fool! Y-You just didn't give me much time to answer!"

"Hmm, yeah, I'm sure. Alright, let's go before I change my mind."

Even if I didn't know where they went, it wouldn't have been difficult to figure out; a literal trail of breadcrumbs led us precisely to where they were, the Axis Church. A large group of children surrounded Cecily and Aqua as they handed out the remaining pastries and loaves of bread.

"Now remember who made this possible," Cecily said as she finished handing out the final portion, "Aqua-sama."

"Aqua-sama," the kids said in unison.

"That's right, and today is Aqua-sama's special day; so when the bad Eris cultist arrives, all of you have to eat the bread happily in front of him and tell him that you give thanks to the real goddess of this world and not that fake dark goddess, Eris."

Oh God, what was this woman doing? "Aqua," I said as we approached them.

"Is that him?" one of the children asked Cecily.

"No, that's not him; even though he's a questionable man."

"Oi, I don't wanna hear that coming from you," I said, pointing at her. "Aqua," I said once more, "just pay the baker what you owe; one of your followers obviously st—"

Aqua interrupted me. "What are talking about, Kazuma? Cecily's done nothing of the sort; she's behaving like a model Axis faithful that everyone should aspire to."

Cecily beamed with happiness at the praise Aqua was giving her.

"There she is!" The familiar voice shouted from behind us. The baker arrived with a set of guards.

"That's him, children!" Cecily shouted.

At once, the kids began reciting what she told them causing the guards and baker to recoil in horror.

"What, what are you making these children say; are you Axis cultists not content with stealing that you have to corrupt their young minds?!" the baker said in disbelief.

Cecily chuckled proudly as she placed her hands on her hips. "Nothing they've said has been false."

"How, how could you say that with such a straight face?! Arrgh, fine! The next time I see you anywhere near my store, I'll make sure to tie you down and haul you off myself!"

"Ah!" Cecily covered her mouth in timidity. "How could you say such lewd things in front of all these innocents? See children, this is the true face of the Eris Cult; they like to play pure, and then, when they're angry, they show their true colors."

The baker and guards were stunned at the blatant two-faced nature of the cultist before them and began backing away.

"You, you won't get away with this!" the baker yelled as he and the guards ran off.

Cecily giggled in triumph.


	8. Chapter 7: A Dangerous Celebration

**Chapter 7: Advent of a Dangerous Celebration**

**Part 1**

As we sat in the back of the church watching the children eat, Cecily smiled.

"The mission's a success, Aqua-sama." She sighed with relief, her modest smile growing into wide grin.

"Good, Cecily. I'm happy to know that you're one of my followers." Aqua munched on one of the pastries.

Some of the children had offered their own portions to her; those that had, were now playing amongst themselves in the yard.

"Here you go, Kazuma," Aqua said, handing me a piece of cheese bread. "I'll allow you to share in the spoils that Cecily so valiantly acquired."

I sighed but grabbed the bread anyways. As I ate, I looked to the other two who were amongst the children. Megumin was trying to play the older sister role but looked like she was the big kid of the playground; the pompous actions she was displaying didn't help her dispel this imagery either. Darkness, on the other hand, appeared like she was at home with the whole situation; she sat with a small group of children recounting some stories of, presumably, our early adventures.

"Aqua-sama," Cecily said, happily trying to get her attention.

Aqua replied with a mouthful of bread. "Yesh, Sheshily?"

"You know there's a huge celebration going on in Alcanretia at the moment."

Cecily said this almost as if she was suggesting something; I didn't like where this was going.

"Oh?" Aqua looked at me. "Kazuma, we should—"

"No, I'm not going to Alcanretia."

"Why?!"

"What do you mean, 'why'. I refuse to set foot in that town; one time was enough for me."

"Do you have something against my followers?!"

"Of course I do!" I retorted, pointing angrily at her as I did. "Who the hell doesn't?!"

"Hey, Aqua-sama, this man is being impertinent; do you mind if I purge him as a devil?"

"Kazuma-san," Aqua said, shaking me gently, "please; won't you do this for my birthday?"

Hearing Aqua plead so genuinely sent a chill up my spine; I felt as if it was the most unusual thing I've experienced since coming here…and that's saying a lot.

"I refuse."

"WHHYYY?!" Aqua began shaking me angrily. "Why won't you be nice to me?! And even after I said it so kindly, you stupid pedohikiNEET! Dummy! Kazutrash! Scumzuma!"

"Arrrgh, get off," I said as I tried to push her away.

"You know, the Axis Birth Celebration festival is a pretty big deal," Cecily said in an oddly reserved manner.

I pushed Aqua away. "In what way?" I said, fixing my attire.

"People from outside Belzerg come to it; it's similar to the festival the Eris Cult holds annually."

"You mean the Eris Cultural Festival."

She nodded silently. "And since Alcanretia is the City of Water and Hot springs, most people just show up wearing skimpy clothing…or nothing at all." She grinned slyly.

"Kazuma," Megumin said as marched towards the Teleport Station, "why are we going to Alcanretia; I thought you said you never wanted to go back?"

"Quiet, Megumin. Today is Aqua's birthday; what kind of companion would I be if I didn't take her to her hometown on her birthday?!"

"Ehhh, I'm not sure about this."

"Listen, just relax; try to take a page out of our Crusader's attitude."

Darkness was smiling happily, her eyes closed as if she was imagining life in Heaven. Aqua was similarly grinning blissfully, humming as we made our way.

"Don't worry, Megumin-chan," Cecily said with a deceptive smile, "I'll be here to make sure no perverts touch you."

"I'm more concerned with you own behavior, Cecily onee-san."

"Wha-How could you say that, Megumin; your onee-chan only wishes to protect that beautiful, silky soft body of yours."

"I-I have my staff back now; if you start doing strange things to me, I'll use Explosion!"

I pitched into the conversation. "I can't help but think that'd put you in a pretty bad scenario; unable to move, around a bunch of people like her."

Megumin shuddered. "Why, why must I endure so much of this harassment?"

"Oi, you do it to yourself; maybe if you had some other spell besides Explosion, you'd be able to defend yourself properly."

"I refuse to use any other spell; it's bad enough that I had to learn other ones already. I feel like it's diminished my quality as a top-tier mage."

"In what world are **you** a top-tier mage?"

Megumin punched me in the ribs.

After arriving in Alcanretia, we quickly decided to head over to the inn. True to what the dangerous nun said, the city was packed with people of different classes, looks, and races. There were elves and dwarves as I came to expect, but there were also demihumans; rabbit-eared people, ones with fluffy tails, foxes, even ones with characteristics that girl-mage, Lin had.

"Woah, is that a lizardman?!" I said in awe; my excitement at seeing such fantastical things hadn't been this high since I first came to this world.

"Would you calm down, Kazuma; it's rude to point out such things so blatantly," Darkness said.

"Shut it, Darkness; you can't appreciate the awesomeness of unique races like I can."

As we walked through the crowd towards the hotel, I looked around; many people were indeed dressed in light clothing, but to my disappointment, I was yet to see a beautiful girl from another race walking around naked.

And in spite of the new scenery, one thing didn't change and that was the Axis cultists running around trying to swindle people into joining; given the occasion, they seemed to be stepping up their efforts…which was something I didn't think possible. Luckily (I think) for us, since we already had two Axis cultists in our midst, dodging recruitment attempts was made far easier.

"Hey, Kazuma," Aqua said, "I'm gonna go with Cecily to the Axis Church; I'd like to get a good look at all the effort everyone's been putting in."

"Eh, sure."

"Megumin-chan, won't you join us?" Cecily said happily.

Megumin looked away nervously. "Uhhh, no thanks; I'll stick with Kazuma and Darkness."

The nun gave a disappointed sigh. "Ok, well, be careful; there's a lot of weird people in town for the celebration, I wouldn't want them doing anything—"

"G-Go already!"

Cecily giggled, and then walked off with Aqua.

"Now what?" Megumin said as she turned to us.

I rubbed my chin and smirked. "I don't know about you guys, but I came to relax—"

"Didn't you say you came because Aqua wanted to? And why would you come to Alcanretia if you wanted to relax? And what's with that questionable smirk of yours?"

"Stop asking so many questions! Anyways, you two are welcome to join me in the mixed baths if you want."

Megumin looked at Darkness, who stared back at her in the same manner, then she looked at me. "No thanks."

"Oi, really? You're still being stubborn after the many times we've seen each other naked?"

"Wait!" Darkness said in disbelief. "How often do you guys—"

Megumin interrupted. "C-Cool it with your imagination, Darkness! A-Anyways, we'll go to the hot baths later."

"Aww come on, this is why I can't take both of you seriously; sending me mixed signals, expecting me to take the lead, but when you guys are put in the same situations you just chicken out too!"

"What?!" Megumin shouted. "Are-Are you seriously saying that; I'm never the one who chickens out!"

"I-I didn't back down either!" Darkness added.

"Ok, so what's the problem?" I replied. "It's just a mixed bath anyways; do you guys really think I'll make moves on you in a public bath?"

Darkness and Megumin exchanged looks.

Finally, Megumin sighed. "No, I suppose not; you're too much of a coward to do it when we're alone so I doubt you'd have the tenacity to go that far."

"_Oi..."_

Darkness chimed in. "That's right, at the end of the day, Kazuma is the type of guy who likes to talk a big game but ultimately lacks the stones to do anything."

"Hey, what's with this harassment? If you guys keep saying things like that, I'll make sure to use Steal on your towels."

"On second thought, Darkness, maybe we shouldn't go—"

"I-I was just joking. Anyways, where would you two go? Despite a festival going on, we **are **still in Alcanretia."

While Darkness smiled dreamily, Megumin shook her head in worry; she sighed once more. "I hate to say it, but it seems like being with you might be the best of our alternatives."

"Are-Are you sure, Megumin?" Darkness remarked hurriedly. "We can always visit the Axis Church with Aqua, and then come back to the baths later."

"Last place I'd like to visit is the Axis Church; no, if we go there, we're liable to be assaulted; especially with you showing that Eris amulet so deliberately."

I stared at Darkness who was almost drooling at the mention; there's no doubt in my mind she was hoping for such an outcome.

"I'm a proud Eris follower, Megumin. Besides, this is the amulet both of you got me for my birthday; what kind of a friend would I be if I hid it when I would need to display it most prominently?"

"Darkness, there's no need; in fact, I would say this is the one situation that you definitely shouldn't!"

"Ah just let her, Megumin; you know this pervert can't pass up chances to be abused."

"T-That's not true! I-I, I'm just—"

"Yeah, yeah, we believe you. Now, let's hurry to the baths before we get harassed by Axis cultists."

Getting there took longer than it should've thanks to the constant barrage of recruitment attempts we had to thwart. Thanks to the festival, the attempts were more group-focused rather than the more individual targeting that cultist usually did; this allowed us to escape more easily, slipping away when the cultists shifted their attention to other passersby.

"Gah, finally," I said in relief.

We entered the hot bath and proceeded to the reception area.

"Welcome to…"

"…"

The receptionist and I pointed at each other while Megumin and Darkness got into a defensive stance.

"Y-You, w-why are you here?!" The receptionist was none other than the former Demon King General, Seresdina; although, I personally knew her as Serena the Bitch.

I replied in similar fashion. "Seriously?! Why are **you** here?!"

"I"—she looked down despondently—"I…work here."

I quickly covered my mouth in an attempt to quell my budding smile and building laughter but alas, I couldn't. "Gwahahaha!"

"You little shit head, how dare you laugh at me! How are you even alive, I was sure I killed you!"

I calmed myself, wiping away the tears dotting the corner of my eyes. "You did…but I have an Archpriest who's capable of using Resurrection in my party."

"Tch. That annoying priest is actually capable of using Resurrection? I would've never guessed. However"—Serena brandished a metal shiv—"she's not here right now, is she?"

Darkness and Megumin almost leapt forward, but Serena held the blade out towards them, saying, "I'm still under the dark goddess's protection; anything you do to me will be reflected unto you."

Darkness continued to inch forward, but I grabbed her. "Alright, just clam down," I said, trying to pacify the former General.

"No, screw you, Kazuma. You think I'm just gonna let you walk out of here after putting me through all that humiliation?"

Darkness interrupted. "Was, was it really humiliating?"

Serena peered out at her while keeping the weapon drawn in front. "This bastard…the things he did to me…" She quickly closed her eyes in grief, her jaw clenched, and brows knit in recalling anger. "The things he's done to me are irredeemable—unforgivable!" She shouted, furiously slashing the air in rage.

Darkness covered her mouth; her eyes were wide in surprise, her body, trembling.

"Kazuma," Megumin said with a hint of worry, "what exactly did you do to her?"

"That, that's not important," I replied as I avoided her gaze.

"No, of course it isn't," Serena said, clutching the weapon in her hand tightly. "What's important is that I make you pay for all of it!"

"Hey, you stupid girl!" An elderly lady yelled.

Serena quickly stiffed at the sound of her voice. She hurriedly hid the shiv in her clothing and turned around with her fake iconic smile adorning her face. "Yes, proprietress?"

"What did I tell you?! Call me Ba-chan! BA-CHAN! Do I have to punish you again?!"

Serena's composure look like it was falling apart; the corner of her brow and lips twitched. "S-Sorry…Ba-chan." She lowered her head in a spiritless manner.

"There you go, that's better. And what of the new customers, why are you making them wait?!"

"A-Ah, w-well, t-they were just—"

Megumin interrupted. "We were wondering if we could use the baths, but she said she doesn't serve Axis affiliates."

"WHAT?!" The old lady yelled louder than any of us expected, her eyes growing bloodshot in fury, her face, red.

Serena quickly looked back at Megumin who stared back with a smug expression.

"Proprietress—I mean, Ba-chan, I-I would never say such a thing!"

The little old lady shuffled up to her and leapt up. She somehow managed to grab Serena by the hair and haul her off towards the back of the reception hall. A few seconds later, several smacking sounds could be heard followed by some protests, wailing, and whimpering. A couple minutes after that, the old lady returned to us with a smile.

"Sorry about her, she's fairly new, so she's unfamiliar to way we do things here; please forgive her."

"Uh, sure," I replied.

"So, will it be you three?"

We nodded.

"Alright, that'll be twenty thousand eris."

"Twe, Twenty thousand eris?" I said in slight surprise. "That's way more than what I paid the last time I came here."

The old lady, still smiling, replied, "Ah, here's a complimentary bar of soap for your troubles. Also, if you sign up to—"

I quickly handed her the money.

Despite saying they were gonna join me in the mixed baths, Megumin and Darkness bailed at the last moment and headed over to the female-only section. As I grumbled angrily to myself, I entered the mixed baths. To my misfortune, there was only one other person present, an oji-san with greying hair. He laid against the edge of the bath staring at the entrance.

"Ah, finally," he said with a smile, "I was starting to think no one would ever come."

I raised my brow and sunk into the refreshingly warm waters. "Are you waiting for some beautiful ladies to come too, oji-san?"

"Hmm." He rubbed his chin in thought, and then smiled once more. "I don't really mind who comes; just as long as they've come to enjoy these precious waters with me."

Once again, I raised my brow in suspicion.

"Hmm, are you an adventurer, young man?"

"Ah, well, yeah, something like that, I guess."

"I see. Since you entered the mixed baths, I assume I can entrust you with a bit of a secret."

"Oh?" I shifted slightly in the water. "What kind of secret?"

The oji-san grinned. "The type of secret that can only be shared between men."

"I…I'm not really fol—"

He quickly drifted over to my side, and just as I was about shoot back in defense, he whispered. "There's an inconspicuous hole I've made in the wall of the bath."

"!"

He sneered. "The hole's been there for quite a long time without anyone noticing."

This old man…he was a brother-in-arms. I clasped his hand in reverence. "Oji-san, show me your secret."

He chuckled lightly. "Umu, by the way, the name is Zesta."

"_Zesta? Where have I heard this name before? Hmm, nevermind. _Zesta-san, my name is Kazuma, Satou Kazuma."

"Ah, Kazuma-dono, nice to meet you. Come, let me show you the secret I speak of."

We rose out of the bath and made our way to a small bush in the far corner of the baths. Overturning one of the stones in place, Zesta pulled on a small rope which caused a hidden door to fall away from the bath wall.

"Wha-How—"

"Shhh." He gestured me to follow as he dipped through the hole.

Moving through the expertly hidden trap door, me and Zesta traversed the outside wall of the baths. Normally I would be overcome with excitement at such a thing, but since the hot springs in Alcanretia were situated on high peaks near the mountain, one false step could spell death.

"Eh, Zesta-san, this seems a bit…dangerous."

"Ah, indeed it is; you can hold onto me if you'd like."

"Ehhh, no, I think I'm fine."

I swore I heard Zesta mumble something, but I shrugged away the thought.

"Here we are," He said, waving me over.

I peered through the makeshift hole and could instantly see numerous bare-skinned backs; women of all sizes and races sat or walked along the bath's edge, carelessly conversing amongst themselves. Apparently, according to Zesta, the hole was covered by some sort of pipe-like item, this made it difficult to spot from within the female's bath.

"Zesta-san, you're a saint amongst men."

"Haha, well thank you, Kazuma-dono, but I also would like to take a look."

"Ah, uh, sure."

As I was about to move away, Zetsa grabbed my shoulder.

"?"

"There's no need for you to move, Kazuma-dono. I'll peek from behind you, that way we can both enjoy the view to our hearts content."

"Ah, well, I mean…" If Zesta sat behind me, he'd be close, uncomfortably close; even the view beyond the looking glass wouldn't be enough to quell the anxiety I'd be feeling in such a scenario. "No, no, it's alright, Zeta-san; you made this, so it's only right that—"

"Nonsense, Kazuma-dono, as one whose occupation lies in helping and sacrificing one's self for the sake of others, I couldn't take away this moment of bliss you're experiencing."

"No, it's ok; I'm familiar with self-sacrifice too. You go ahead and—wait, what exactly do you do, Zesta-san?"

"Ah, I'm an Archpriest."

"An, an Archpriest? Like…of the Axis Cult?"

He chuckled. "That's right; I'm the former Patriarch of the Axis Order."

I felt the heat drain from my body; now I remembered where I heard the name, this man was the former head of the band of nutcases. Surely, under his direction the Axis Cult showered others in their depraved acts. I was in danger; I could sense I was in utter danger.

"Well, Zesta-san, it's been nice; I'm gonna head back and—"

Zesta blocked the path back. "Nonsense, nonsense, Kazuma-dono; come, please look through that hole to your heart's content; I will also peer into it. Let us share this moment together, engrave it into our memories."

I staggered back and gulped nervously. "I-I actually have to go meet up with my companions, so I can't really stay, b-but I'll be sure to pay a vis…it."

Zesta quickly pounced and grabbed me.

"Wait, no! I don't consent to this!" I yelled as we wrestled against each other.

"Kazuma-dono, please, don't be so rigid; relax, all we'll be doing is peeking through holes. If you'd like, I can let you stare at that one while I stare at—"

"NO!" I cried out, pushing him away with all my force.

"Wha, oh." Zesta slipped on the edge of the rocks and fell over the edge. Before I could process a reaction, he disappeared into the foggy cliff below.

I quickly peered over the edge. "Zesta-san," I whispered nervously; however, there was no reply.

Did I just…kill a man? No, I couldn't—I didn't; I was defending myself. That's right, it was an act of self-defense…still…even if it was in self-defense…I peered over the edge again; there was no way anyone could survive a fall from this height.

While I contemplated the scenario before me, I could hear the sound of several female voices worriedly wondering about the sounds coming from the rear of the bath.

"_Shit!"_ Despite the overwhelming feeling of guilt, I ran back to the mixed baths.

_**-Meanwhile…**_

"Megumin, do you think Kazuma is still waiting in the mixed baths?" Darkness asked.

"Mhm," I replied in a relaxed manner. After a couple seconds, I opened an eye and glanced at her; Darkness was staring rather glumly at the water. "Why?" I asked her.

"Hmm? Ah, well, I was just wondering is all…"

"That's not it, is it? I forget how much of a libido you actually hide, Lewdness."

Darkness sunk into bath in embarrassment. While having flushed complexion was normal under the circumstances, for Darkness, water of this temperature wouldn't incite such a reaction in such a short amount of time.

"Did you actually want to go?" I asked.

Darkness looked away slowly.

I sighed and allowed myself to sink lower. "You don't seem to be enjoying the woman's-only bath; why don't you try the mixed? I'll stay here for a while."

Darkness stared at me in surprise. Then she stood up and cleared her throat. "Y-You're right; I-I'll go see if the mixed bath is all it's talked up to be."

"Umu."

Still feeling somewhat guilty over the death of Zesta-san, I quickly left the bath as soon as I made it back. I wanted to go back home and hide under my pillow. Maybe in a few days' time I would forget about it all and go on with my life. As I stepped out of the changing room and into the reception hall, I was quickly pulled into a room.

"Got you, fucker." Serena held the shiv to my neck as she grinned deviously.

"Really? Come on, just let me go; I just went through something traumatic."

"Trauma—you dare speak to me about trauma, you son of a bitch?! Ooooo, I wanna stab you so bad!"

"Don't, don't do that. Oi, what's wrong with your face? Why is it all…beaten…_wait a minute; if this a result from her being beaten up by the old lady then…_You, you lost your powers; you lost your powers, didn't you?"

"Wha, what are you talking about?" Serena tried to put on her regular smile, but having seen it so many times, I knew what she displayed now wasn't a cockiness or derisive expression, but nervousness; she was smiling nervously. "Are you so scared that—"

SMACK! Serena stood in shock.

"Umu, I knew it, your powers are gone; you're no longer protected by Regina, are you?"

"You!" She pressed the blade to my neck angrily. "I'm tired of you; ever since I've met you, all I've experienced is regret!"

"Oi, oi, just clam down; why don't you take a dip in the—"

"No, shut up! SHUT UP, Kazuma! I'll kill you; I'll kill you for good this time, and then burn this fucking place to the ground!"

"Whoa, whoa, I-I know how you feel right now"—She pressed on the blade, drawing blood—"Trust me, I do! I have to deal with a bunch of incompetent people every day, clean up after their messes, and go along with all the troubles they cause. Killing me isn't gonna solve any of your problems; it'll just cause some more."

Serena stared at me; her eyes and blade held firm. I stared back anxiously. I felt the shiv press forward, and then pull away. As I was about to gasp in relief, Serena, collapsed and began crying.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way, dammit; why?" She whimpered. "You were all supposed to fall to the Demon King's Army, so why? How?!"

I felt awkward at the turn of events, but perhaps because of the time we spent together I felt some pity towards her.

"Honestly, I don't really know; I suppose I just got really lucky."

"Luck?! LUCK?!" She shot up, rage permeating every inch of her face. "FUCK YOU, KAZUMA! No one's that lucky. Even the Goddess Eris herself would be hard-pressed to pull off such bullshit!" She threw her hands around my throat and squeezed viciously. "What's your secret?! Tell me, dammit! TELL ME!" She seemed to reach her breaking point; as she strangled me, tears ran down her face.

Finally, moments before my vision completely tunneled, she let go and fell to her knees once more. I stumbled back into the wall and slid down, coughing violently.

"This is…so unfair," Serena said with a defeated smile. "What bullshit." She looked up with the same expression and closed her eyes. "I'm through with this, Kazuma."

She raised the shiv to her chest and thrust down with all her force.

"No!" I quickly grabbed her arm and pulled.

In spite of her level, she was surprisingly strong; either that or she **really** didn't want to live anymore. Nevertheless, Serena put up a struggle as I wrenched the makeshift weapon from her hands.

"Give it to me, you bastard!" She yelled, pouncing on top of me.

"No, stop, get away, don't—no!"

The door to the room opened and standing at its entrance was Darkness and the old lady.

"Kazuma?" Darkness said in surprise.

"Pro, Ba-chan, I can explain," Serena said in a completely fearful tone.

**Part 2**

Afterwards, Serena was heavily ridiculed (and I assumed, "punished") by the old lady while me and Darkness walked off to lounge to wait for Megumin.

"Kazuma, what exactly happened?" Darkness asked.

"I told you; I came out of the baths and she grabbed me and tried to murder me. See, I even have her weapon." I showed her.

Darkness shook her head, and then sighed. "We should tell the authorities about this."

"Eh, just leave it alone; I don't wanna get involved with anything including Axis cultists."

"But she tried to—"

"I know what she tried to do; I was there."

Darkness sighed again. "If only she didn't have that curse; I'd break every bone in her body…on second thought—"

"Sit down, you weirdo." Darkness did so. "Anyways, we won't have to worry about that if we ever run into her in the future; she's no longer protected."

"Wait, how do you—"

"I tested it."

"Ah, of course you did; trying to keep up your reputation as Kazuma the Brute, I see."

"Oi, don't call me that, ok? And who the hell gave me that name in the first place?!"

"There you guys are." Megumin walked into the lounge; she gave a quick glance towards Darkness, and then me. "Are you two done; should we get something to eat?"

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," I answered. "Darkness, put your amulet away—"

"I refuse."

"Come on, they aren't serving you anything as long you keep it out."

Darkness placed a hand on her cheek and smirked happily. "To willingly allow one to starve…" She shuddered.

"Ugh, hopeless," Me and Megumin said in unison.

"Kazuma, Kazuma, look!" Megumin said as we walked through the swarming district of stalls. "They're serving Gehjoda Gecko Burgers, and they're the inferno kind too!"

"Oh, I thought those were served for a limited time?"

"Hmm, that's odd," Darkness said, "Gehjoda Geckos are usually hibernating around this time of the year; I wonder how they managed to get some."

I was feeling fairly suspicious about it, but Megumin was already at the stall, ordering.

"Alright, little lady, here you are, three Gehjoda Inferno Burgers; that'll be 300,000 eris."

"Three—are you insane?! There's no way these are worth that much!"

The stall owner stared angrily at Megumin. "Thief! Thief!" The owner began to yell. "I'm being—"

Megumin quickly covered his mouth and turned to me nervously.

I crossed my arms. "What are you looking at me for?" I didn't want anything to do with this.

"Um, c-can I borrow some…money?"

"Huh? What happened to all of yours?"

"I, uh, well"—Megumin stared at the ground despairingly—"spent it."

"…"

"I-I'll pay you back as soon as—"

I sighed. "Why'd you even buy three?"

"Well, I wanted all of us to eat so…"

"Guess there's no helping it. Darkness go ahead and pay."

"What?! Why should **I** pay?"

"Because you haven't been of any use lately; paying for this will at least give you something to say you've done."

"Ah, w-what about me saving you from that dastardly woman?!"

"Huh, who said you saved me?"

"…"

"Now hurry up and pay before things get worse."

Darkness tearfully pulled out her coin purse.

"Hey, wait," the stall owner said, "is that an Eris Cult amulet? There'll be an additional 100% fee for serving monsters."

After Darkness paid, we unwrapped the burgers and began eating. Just a couple bites into it and I already knew we've been had. Before I could mention anything, Megumin whipped around and began to angrily shout at the stall clerk.

"This isn't Gehjoda Gecko; it's just a normal sand gecko, isn't it?!" Megumin then gave a quick but discerning glance at the gecko in question. "And…is it painted—did you paint this?!"

The man gave himself up after being exposed…is what I want to say, however, these were Axis Cultists; nothing was ever so simple.

"Hey, are you calling me a liar?! Not only are you a broke, thieving little loli, but you're also trying to swindle me into giving you a refund?! Well, too bad, I don't do refunds!"

Noticing Megumin's glowing eyes, I quickly grabbed and restrained her. While I wasn't happy that we've just been scammed, this was par for the course when dealing with Axis Cultists; to be honest, we should've known better. I decided to cut our losses rather than deal with an angry cultist on their home turf.

"Why'd you stop me, Kazuma; that man was deserving of an Explosion."

"Quit it. While I agree with you, using Explosion would've made things infinitely worse for us." I sighed.

We threw away the burgers due to the fact they had paint in them, so, hunger was still an issue for us.

"Hey," Darkness said, "why don't we go to the restaurant we went to the last time we were here?"

I shrugged. "By the way, are you really gonna keep that amulet out?"

She replied in a serious manner. "Absolutely."

On our way to the restaurant in question, we passed by many kiosks selling food, trinkets, souvenirs and even things you really couldn't buy anywhere else. Regardless of what they were claiming to sell, we gave them as wide a berth as possible. Finally, we arrived at the restaurant and ordered; besides the usual mistreatment against Darkness, we had a fairly normal time.

I looked around; the restaurant, the streets, the buildings were all packed with people. How was Alcanretia such a popular tourist spot? Sure, they had the hot springs, but even the hot springs couldn't be enough of an attraction to put up with the constant harassment the Axis Cult did.

"Kazuma, look," Megumin said, snapping me out my thoughts.

She pointed towards the large fountainhead sitting outside the restaurant. In front of it was a sign describing some upcoming event.

I began reading it aloud. "Revelation of the Goddess Aqua tonight; come one, come all. Just five hundred eris. Come get blessed by the one true goddess and to have guaranteed luck for the rest of your life."

All of us went quiet as I finished.

"_There's so many things wrong with this that it's not even worth mentioning,"_ I thought.

Megumin sighed. "Leave it to the Axis Cult to make the revelation of their goddess a paid event."

I looked over at Darkness. She was staring happily at the bowl before her; this time the restaurant had served her a bowl of rock salt.

"I-I shouldn't let these go to waste," She said, about to grab one.

"Could you stop it?!" I slapped her hand. "People are gonna figure out I'm traveling with a bunch of weirdos."

"Weirdos?! H-How am I part of this?!" Megumin retorted.

"How aren't you?! I mean sure, you've been sort of behaving , but—"

Megumin slammed her palm onto the table and stared at me angrily, her eyes growing a dark red. "…whatever," She mumbled, sitting back down with a pout.

"Ah, not gonna say something after all that, perhaps I misjudged you; maybe you **have** grown a bit."

She seemed to take my response badly as her eyes glowed a darker shade and her brows knit deeper; however, Megumin remained silent, crossing her arms while wearing a scowl.

Normally, I'd take off to do something, but this was Alcanretia; there was little to do here in terms of relaxation and having watched a man die at the hot baths, it was no longer a place of relative comfort to me; not to mention, a former Demon King's General being an employee.

"Let's go find Aqua," Darkness suggested in the immediate silence.

"You mean, let's go to the Axis Church," Megumin corrected.

I stared at Darkness and sighed heavily.

"Wha-What's with the heavy sigh, Kazuma?" She questioned.

"I just realized as long as we're here you're even more hopeless than Aqua and almost just as useless."

"!"

"No, wait, I think that's just how you are all the time."

"Geez, Kazuma, you're being a bigger jerk than usual," Megumin said offhandedly.

"You should be happy I'm so honest with you guys; I'm not the type of person to say things people wanna hear."

Megumin sighed, and then gave a faint smile. "Yeah, I guess you aren't. Anyhow, let's go see what Aqua's up to."

"She's with the nun, right? I don't think we have to imagine too much to know what they're up to; they're on their turf with a bunch of tourists."

"Well, I can definitely see Cecily-san doing something dishonest, but Aqua—"

"Aqua's just as bad, especially when she surrounds herself with people just like her."

"Well, what do you suggest we do then?"

"I'd say go home, but"—I gave a great huff of regret—"it is her birthday, so…"

Against my wish, we headed to the Axis Church in search of Aqua.

"Here we are," I said as we approached the lion's den.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Darkness said.

There was an enormous line of cultists seemingly waiting for something inside.

"Excuse me," Megumin said, approaching one of the cultists in line.

"Hmm, are you also here to see the High Priestess?"

"High Priestess? Are you talking about Aqua?"

The lady nodded with a fervent smile. "The High Priestess and Goddess of the Axis Order has come to lead us to our destined future."

"Wait," I interjected, "you guys know that Aqua's a goddess?"

"Of course!" She shouted with an almost manically happy expression. "What else could she be, if not our Goddess incarnate?!"

"No, you're right about that; she's definitely your goddess." There was nothing else she could be except the Goddess of a borderline illicit and insane cult.

"Well, what exactly are you waiting for?" Megumin continued to question.

"I'm going for a blessing for tonight's gambling event; Aqua-sama's gonna help me get rich."

Oh boy, if most of the cultist were here for similar reasons, I'm afraid another uprising is imminent.

The cultist went on. "All of us are here for various reasons; some have come to confess their sins and others have come from faraway to pledge their undying loyalty to the one true goddess. Such is the majesty that is the High Priestess, Aqua-sama."

Me, Megumin, and Darkness stepped away from the line.

"How are we going to get to Aqua?" Megumin queried.

"We could always just walk in, no?" Darkness answered.

"Of course not," I interjected. "Skipping a bunch of Axis cultists who are waiting for an audience with their idol; doing something like that in Japan would get you murdered, I can't imagine it'd be any different in this scenario."

"I'm starting to think Japan is a pretty dangerous place," Megumin commented.

"We don't actually have to go see her; we could just wait till tonight or something."

"And in the meantime?"

"We could head to the inn; I'm actually pretty tired after everything that's happened."

"Everything that's"—Megumin stared at me, and then Darkness—"You…y-you guys didn't actually do anything, right?!"

"What are you talking about?"

Darkness quickly spoke. "N-No, Megumin; I, uh, we, didn't really…"

I looked between them. "Didn't what? What didn't we do? Was I supposed to do something?!"

Megumin gave a sigh of relief. "It's nothing, Kazuma. As for your proposal, I guess we could do that."

"No, forget about that; I wanna know what I was supposed to do."

Megumin frowned. "You're supposed to remember who you're married to. Now enough of that; let's head back to the inn."

I plopped down on the bed and let out a breath of respite.

"Where's Darkness?" Megumin asked from the opposite bed.

"She went to get something to eat from the lounge."

"Ah, that's right, she hasn't eaten anything yet."

"Her own fault for keeping the amulet out."

There was a minute or so of silence, then Megumin spoke again. "How exactly are you so tired; you were at a hot bath the entire day."

"You're kidding me; are you forgetting where we're at?"

"Ehhh, good point…still…"

I opened an eye. "You suspecting me of something?"

"Not really. I mean, earlier I was, a little, but to be honest I don't think either of you would go there; even if you did, I don't think you'd be able to keep it a secret."

"Well, you don't really have to worry about it; I'm not gonna do something like that behind your back."

"Good."

"First, I'd tell you, then maybe—"

POOF! A pillow hit me in the face.

"Honestly, Kazuma, I wonder why I fell for a man like you."

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure you said it was because my irresistible charm."

"Or maybe the lack of." Megumin giggled.

I smirked silently. "Oi, Megumin."

"Hm?"

"I'm going to sleep, wake me up later; I'll appreciate it if it was sometime tomorrow." As I closed my eyes, I felt the bed move. Instinctually, I reopened them to see Megumin laying in front of me. "Oi."

She smiled cheekily. "Sorry, I'm going to sleep too." She took her hat and placed it upon our faces, instantly shrouding us in darkness. "Oyasumi, Kazuma."

"Good—"

I felt her press her lips softly against my own; a moment later, they parted. Before I could do anything in return, she turned around, taking the hat with her. I really couldn't keep up with this girl's antics.

_**-Several hours later…**_

I rubbed my eyes wearily as I woke up. Looking to my side, I saw Megumin was still asleep. I turned the other way and saw Darkness sleeping as well…wait.

"Oi." I shook her awake. "Darkness, what are you doing here?"

"Huh?" She groggily replied, and then promptly fell back asleep.

"Oi…forget it." I let her sleep.

Looking out the window, I could see it was already evening and nearly dark. The fountainhead where the event was supposed to be taking place was visible; a large crowd of people already assembled even though it still a couple hours early.

"Kazuma?" Megumin drowsily turned towards me and sat up.

"Oh, you're awake?"

"Just now," She replied, rubbing the sleepiness away. "I see Darkness came back."

"Umu."

Megumin leaned over me and stared outside. "Is the thing starting?"

"No, not yet, I don't think."

"People are actually going."

"Yeah, I'm as surprised as you."

"Hey, this could be our chance to go see Aqua."

"Hm, maybe."

Megumin reached over and shook Darkness. "Darkness, wake up."

"Stop it, Chris; I don't wanna go to a healer's."

"…"

"Maybe we should leave her," I remarked.

Megumin sighed, and then shook Darkness more aggressively; finally, she stirred awake.

"Huh, what's…what's going on?" She said, slowly sitting up.

"We're gonna go see Aqua, you coming?"

"Huh, uh, sure."

When we reached the church, the sprawling line that was present earlier was now nearly gone.

"Wow, there's still people waiting," Darkness said.

"Yeah, but at least now we can make the line," Megumin replied.

"I'm surprised you're even considering it," I commented.

"What are you talking about, Kazuma; I'm the epitome of calm and collected." She frowned. "Stop making me sound like I'm unstable."

"You're saying more and more ridiculous-sounding things."

"Oh, would it more in character if I used Explosion at this moment?!" She readied her staff and began chanting in my direction.

"Whoa, whoa, ok, stop, stop!" I panickily grabbed her.

"Humph!" Megumin pulled away with a pout.

A few minutes later, the last cultist left the church and we entered. There was no sign of Aqua, but if the blonde-haired nun she was always with was anything to go by, I'd say she was in one of the confessionals.

"Ah, Aqua-sama," she said, "it's Megumin-chan and your friends."

"Megumin-chan?!" A familiar voice came from inside one of the other confession booths nearby. The door rattled a couple of times and a half-naked old man came rolling out.

"Oh no," Cecily said with a wry smile, "what are you doing tied up in one of the booths, Zesta-san; did one of your perverted acts go wrong?"

"Stop talking nonsense, Cecily, you know you were the one who tied me up."

She looked away and began whistling.

"Zesta-san?" I said in mild surprise. _"How the hell is this old man alive? I'm pretty sure he fell into the cliff._"

Zesta turned his attention to me. "Ah, Kazuma-dono, have you come to repay me?"

Megumin looked at us. "Wait, Kazuma, you've met this perverted oji-san before?"

I looked away slightly. "Unfortunately…"

Finally, Aqua, stepped out of the booth. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Megumin responded. "We came to see you, of course."

Aqua smiled happily, and then flicked her hair pompously. "Really? Well, I've been quite busy. I have to go to an event now, so if you guys want, you can just go see me over there."

"_Oi, what's with this girl's cocky attitude._ Stop acting stupid, Aqua; it's time to go home, we've been here long enough."

Zesta, who seemingly broke out of his restraints, protested against the idea. "Kazuma-dono, Aqua-sama must definitely attend tonight's event; it's by her grace that I've managed to survive my earlier ordeal. If you still intend to take her back, I'm afraid I must ask for compensation. Your—"

"I refuse."

"Megumin-chan, it's been a long time since I've seen you. Come, give me a hug, let me embrace your—"

"I refuse."

Zesta shifted to the remaining member in our party; he stared at her.

Darkness began fidgeting uncomfortably. "Ah, what's those lustful eyes, I feel like this man wants to—"

"I refuse," He said resolutely. "Even I have standards; a shame, by all accounts you'd be a worthy catch, but **that** thing"—He pointed at the Eris amulet—"I WILL NOT BE LED ASTRAY!"

Darkness collapsed in tears, yet, the conflicting smile on her face made me lose whatever shreds of pity I had for her.

"Hey, Aqua-sama," Cecily said, "we should probably get going; I'm sure a lot of people are waiting to see you."

Aqua nodded. "Then I shouldn't keep them waiting, but first I'd like to get a bit of food."

"Umu, not a bad idea."

"Good," Zesta remarked. "You accompany Aqua-sama, Cecily; I'll go with Kazuma-dono and Megumin-chan."

"No, no, Zesta-san, you're not needed; why don't you go fall off a cliff properly this time?"

"Ahahaha, Cecily, are you that insecure about yourself? I see, the only shot you have at going steady with anyone is if this old man died; doesn't that make you want to fall off a cliff? Here, come with me, I have experience in such matters. I can show the way to do it, so you don't fail like I have."

"Ah, Zesta-san who swings both ways, I'm sure things like standards are actually pretty difficult for you to understand, but unlike a certain old man, I have preferences that I like to stick to."

"Ahahaha, is that why you're still single? Ohohoho, it's definitely because of your devotion to Aqua-sama, and not because it was the last resort for you, right? Ahahaha."

Cecily slowly wrapped her hands around his throat. "Ahahaha, of course, Zesta-san, I have only the utmost loyalty to Aqua-sama. I'm definitely not attempting to strangle you by the way, I'm just giving you a well-deserved massage."

Zesta gurgled incoherently as he tried to break away from Cecily.

"Zesta-san, why are you resisting? Please, allow this humble servant to help you; you've done a lot of things with that mouth and throat of yours today so I'm just trying to alleviate the pain you're surely feeling."

Eventually, Zesta passed out and Cecily let go with a beaming smile.

"Ok, Aqua-sama, Zesta-san fell asleep; I can accompany all of you now."

"_Scary! What the hell, this nun is scary!"_

As per Aqua's request, we made our way to the restaurant near the fountain. When we arrived, the Axis Cultists nearby flocked to her, praising and worshipping unceasingly. Me, Darkness, and Megumin sat on some benches across the forming crowd.

"I can't believe she's grown this popular," Darkness said, watching more and more people gather.

To be honest, I was surprised to see this as well; then again, Axis Cultist's are the most fervent believers and followers of their goddess and her "teachings", so perhaps such actions shouldn't be seen as so surprising.

"She seems to be enjoying herself though," Megumin remarked.

Indeed, Aqua seemed to be basking in the constant praise and attention her followers were showering her in, had it been me, I would've already grown tired of it. She just came from providing alms to a litany of people after all, so I was sure she would turn them away; however, Aqua continued answering and proselyting to her flock happily…even as she tore into the food and drinks before her.

I shrugged. "Well, at least she's staying out of trouble."

Megumin looked at me. "Saying things like that, it's almost as if you want something bad to happen."

I looked over at the fountain; the event would be starting pretty soon.

"Alright, alright!" The scary nun shouted. "Aqua-sama will see you all soon; for now, let her have her fill."

"No fair, Cecily-san, you've been with Aqua-sama the whole day!" One of the cultists shouted.

"Yeah, let **us** have a moment with her!" Another yelled.

"You and Zesta-sama are the worst; she's not your personal goddess, you know!" Yet another cried out.

"Hey, all of you shut up! Or I'll make sure to lobby for a raise in tithes!" Cecily retorted.

Aqua intervened. "Now, now, all of you don't worry; I'll be seeing you guys soon, ok?"

"AQUA-SAMA!" The crowd cried out dreamily.

Cecily then shooed them away and waved us over.

"You look happy," I said, sitting down in front of Aqua.

"Of course," She replied, biting down on some fried food. "Nothing brings me more happiness than leading my followers to happiness."

If I didn't know any better, I'd believe she was a model goddess. "Right." I glanced over at the others; Megumin was being harassed by the nun and Darkness was being harassed by the restaurant staff…nothing new.

"Are you having fun?" Aqua asked.

"Ehhh?" I thought about my experiences today, and then sighed. "I can't wait to get home," I mumbled.

Aqua took a couple more bites of food. "You know," she began, "today hasn't been a bad day, but I haven't been able to hang out with you guys."

I raised a brow. "Not a big deal, we live together; we see each other every day, right?"

She paused. "Hmm…I suppose you're right." Aqua continued. "Still…while it's nice to be around all of my devoted children, it's also pretty nice being around you guys too."

For some awkward reason, this surprised me more than it should've.

"Ah, well, maybe after all this we can have a game night back at the mansion."

"Hmm, that sounds nice. You should cook something too; while eating stuff like this isn't bad, I'd like something homemade once in a while."

I smiled faintly. "Sure, I guess; been a while since I've cooked anyways, would be nice to make something."

"Good," She said with a smile. "Now, I have an event to do, so I'll see you guys after."

"One sec." I grabbed her napkin and wiped off the crumbs around her face. "There ya go. Now, go do your best, goddess."

Aqua gave a childish smile, and then skipped off with Cecily towards the event grounds. Apparently, while I wasn't looking, a small stage was erected.

The crowd that was around her earlier had transitioned to the front of the stage and were waiting eagerly for her appearance. More and more people began to gather, even ones who weren't cultists. Eventually, hundreds were stood around the square waiting for the event to begin in earnest.

**Part 3**

There was a loud clap of attention as Cecily stepped on stage.

"Welcome to the Axis Order annual celebration! To those of you who've traveled from far away places, please don't forget to sign the form we're handing out for complimentary gifts; it's a prerequisite to gaining the blessings of Aqua-sama."

"_Of course, there's no way they'd let such an opportunity slip by…"_

"This year's event is a little different and a lot more special. This year, Aqua-sama has graced us with her presence, her holiness in human form; without further ado, I present to you, Aqua-sama, High Priestess and Goddess of the Axis Order!"

Almost as if recited, Aqua made her appearance from the depths of the fountain, arms spread out and face plastered with a pompous smile. As she stepped on to the stage, the crowd erupted into cheers and claps. Axis cultists clamored to the very edge of the stage attempting to gain a single touch of their revered goddess, while Aqua smiled and waved to each of them.

As I watched her act, I thought, _"Hmm, she would make a pretty good idol if this was Japan."_

In fact, the event went on without a hitch (oddly enough). Aqua performed many of her party tricks garnering more onlookers, and afterwards she began giving divinations, healing, and advice; besides her healing, I would be wary of the other two services, however, the people involved had no such reservations.

"Kazuma-dono." It was Zesta. "Enjoying the event?"

"Ah, Zesta-san…doesn't really have anything to do with me."

"Hmm, I wonder if that's true."

"?"

"Sure, you're not participating, but if it wasn't for you, all these people and Aqua-sama herself wouldn't have had this experience. You're as important to this occasion as the occasion itself. I feel like our goddess has a good example of humanity to follow."

"So, you all actually believe that Aqua's a goddess?"

"Always have."

"Even when we first came to Alcanretia?"

"Well"—He gave a rough cough—"let's not talk about that time."

I smirked.

"You know, you're an unusual person, Kazuma-dono."

"Oi, really? Coming from you it feels like a joke."

Zesta laughed. "You're not from here, are you; you're from Japan."

"…" This old man was more observant than he let on.

"Ah, that silence says everything. Japan is a beautiful place, isn't it? A place where everyone could be themselves and enjoy whatever they want without scrutiny, hm?"

"_Ehhh, I don't know who told this oji-san that, but…"_

"Well, I feel a bit sorry for you…if you had to leave such a wonderous place for our own."

I stared back at the stage-performing goddess, and then at my other companions off in the distance. "…this place isn't too bad. Sure, it has it's faults, but I don't think Japan is without faults either."

Zesta stared at me in slight surprise, and then gave a faint smile. "I see."

Both of us looked at the performance for some time before Zesta spoke once more.

"You know, Kazuma-dono, it was my wish to make this place like Japan."

"Like Japan?"

He nodded. "A place without scrutiny, a place of freedom to be who you want and what you want."

I didn't want to burst the old man's bubble; Japan wasn't what he thought it was. There were many things that were tolerated, but they weren't without scrutiny; even outside Japan, it was the same.

He continued. "Aqua-sama has spoken of the many virtues of such a place; it was my goal as the Patriarch to bring about that place, here, so that all her faithful could enjoy the pleasures of Japan."

"_Bring Japan here, huh?"_

In a way, such a dream was already underway; the ones like me, who were transported here, brought with them small bits of knowledge and Japanese culture. And I, with my own knowledge and the help of a certain devil have brought even more change. It made me wonder, if things kept progressing the way they have, how long would it take for my own world's culture to completely overtake this world's own?

"Ah, well that enough of the ramblings of this old man. Kazuma-dono, the event should be wrapping up pretty soon." He stood up, and then bowed deeply. "Please continue to look after Aqua-sama."

Another person who asked me to do something so unreasonable.

I sighed. "Sure."

"And shall we meet again at the hot springs."

"Don't hold your breath."

Zesta chuckled, and then walked off.

After a while, the celebration ended like Zesta said. Aqua and the others came over to me after saying their goodbyes.

"Kazuma, did you enjoy my performance?" Aqua asked, proudly smirking.

"Umu, it wasn't bad; you'll have to teach me some, one of these days."

"I already told you I wasn't against, but you'll have to give me something appropriate in return."

"Right."

Megumin spoke. "Kazuma, are we heading back?"

"Yeah…hey," I said, looking around, "isn't the nun going back?"

"Ah, Cecily-san said she wanted to stay in town for a little while."

I gave a sigh of relief, and then looked to our Crusader. "What's with your hair?"

"Oh, some of the kids tied her hair to the stage."

Darkness cupped her hands around her face and smiled. "The shock I felt when I tried to run after that child who stole my sword."

I glanced at Aqua. "Would you do something about your followers already? I'm sure now that they know your true identity, they'll be more likely to actually listen."

"Why should I? It's Darkness' fault for not making sure her stuff is tightened securely."

"She shouldn't have to; stuff like this doesn't happen in Axel."

"Humph." Aqua pouted and looked away.

"Don't worry, Kazuma," Megumin assured, "I managed to get it back." She showed me the blade hidden beneath her cape; it was attached to her belt.

I sighed once more. "Alright, let's get going then."

_**-Back in Axel; arriving at the mansion…**_

"We're back," I said as we came through the door.

"Welcome home," the maid said with a slight bow. "Would you like me to prepare dinner?"

Aqua settled herself into her armchair and let out a tired breath. "No, that's alright, Irene; Kazuma said he was gonna cook once we got back."

"Oi, I don't appreciate you assigning me things to do," I retorted.

Aqua sat up with a frown. "But you did say you were gonna cook."

I did, but now I felt tired. Dealing with Aqua and her followers was draining even if you didn't have to do anything.

"Kazuma," Megumin interjected, "if you want, me and Irene can lend you hand."

"I'd like to be of some help as well," Darkness added. "I know I'm not too good at making complex dishes, but I could at least deal with the vegetables and ingredients."

"That's not a bad idea; let's all make a dish together."

I gave a slightly worried expression, and then smiled. "Yeah, alright, why not?"

Aqua flicked her hair, and then sat back comfortably in her chair. "Me and Emperor Zell await our cuisine. Come, Zell, Mommy hasn't seen you all day."

It was one of the times the pet chicken actually listened; Zell took its place on Aqua's lap and puffed up as it began to doze off.

A few hours passed and it was now well past evening and into the night; a late dinner. As we all sat at the table finishing what was left, Aqua laid back in the chair and stretched.

"All that's left now is some good alcohol," She said, rubbing her stomach as she did.

"Eh, some alcohol, you say?"

She looked at me suspiciously, and then knit her brow. "What, can't I enjoy some alcohol on my birthday?"

"Umu, going by that logic, everyday would be your birthday, wouldn't it?"

Aqua frowned at me, and then crossed her arms.

"Anyways," I continued, "here ya go." I brought out a wrapped present from within my satchel.

Aqua quickly reached over the table and stared at it happily. "What is it?!" She shook it, but it made no discernable sound.

"Hmm, seems pretty light, and it's in a box…"

"Go ahead and open it," I said with a smile. "I feel like it represents you completely."

The rest of us stared as Aqua eagerly tore away the wrapping paper.

"A box," She said, proud to be right about her deduction.

"Mhm." I urged her on.

Aqua lifted the lid of the box with a wide smile, revealing…

"What's this?"

"What's it look like?"

Darkness and Megumin peered over.

"There's nothing here," Darkness remarked.

"Is it hidden with a spell?" Megumin queried.

Aqua flipped the box over, but nothing came out.

"Umu, I got you the same thing you got me for my birthday, NOTHING! Remember that?!"

Aqua flinched, and then looked down sadly. Then began her trademark sniffles as she stared up at me with tears dotting the corners of her eyes. "Ka, Kashuma…how could you be so…so MEANNNN?! WAHHHH!"

Aqua shot out of her chair and ran away crying.

Everyone else instantly sent their glares my way.

"Wow, Kazuma," Megumin said.

"Ugh." Darkness bit her lip. "I, I'm torn by what you just did right now…I can only imagine how bad Aqua feels about this. Ugh, can you imagine the anticipation of thinking it's something worthwhile, only to open it and reveal emptiness…the crushing disappointment." Darkness covered her face as she began to shudder.

No matter the situation this girl never breaks character, does she.

The maid silently stood up and left the dining room.

"Oi, relax, did you guys actually think I'd be that mean to her?!"

Both of them averted their gaze.

"Oi…really?"

Megumin responded. "I mean, you've done some pretty scummy stuff, Kazuma; you can't really blame us for thinking it as a possibility."

I scoffed, scratching my head in slight embarrassment. "Well…yeah, I guess…"

Darkness spoke. "That means you actually got her something, right?"

"Of course."

They smiled.

"I'll go get Aqua, while you two get your presents ready."

Eventually, we all gathered in the living room; the maid helped Darkness with the box that contained her gifts, while Megumin brought Aqua back. Aqua stared at me angrily.

"Oi, would you stop?"

"Humph!" Aqua looked away, a scowl still adorning her face.

"Guess you don't want the present I actually got you."

She instantly sat up with a smile. "Present? What did you get? It isn't just another empty box, is it?"

"You really think I'd waste my time making two of them, of course not. And don't shake this one, just open it." I handed the gift over.

Aqua took it and cautiously opened it, glancing curiously at me every couple of seconds.

"Another box," She announced with trepidation.

"Hey, you don't have to be so worried about it being nothing, alright; I just wanted to joke with you a bit. This one is an actual present, so just hurry up and open it."

Aqua stared at me for a couple of seconds, and then removed the lid. Her cautious expression quickly faded into a sort of calm. She took the item within the box and stared at it for a couple of seconds.

"Holy Reverie," I said. "I think it's about time I made up for the last one."

"How…did you get it?"

I crossed my arms and smiled. "Wasn't easy. Let's just say I had a lot of help."

She pressed the bottle to her chest in a loving embrace. "Thank you, Kazuma…but you should've given this to me a long time ago."

"Oi."

"Aqua, Aqua, here's mine," Megumin said excitedly. She brought out the odd rock-like object and handed it to over.

Aqua stared at it inquiringly, raising it to the light.

"Do you like it?"

"…it's a weird rock." Aqua tilted her head.

"So…"

"Looks weird with all this powdery white stuff; maybe if I wash it a bit there'll be something nice underneath it. Thank you, Megumin."

Finally, Darkness shifted the large wrapped boxed towards Aqua.

"Ohhh, this one is really big." Aqua smiled excitedly. "Wow, Darkness, I wonder what you got me; to be honest, I thought you'd get me the most useless gift out of all three of you."

Since we all knew what Darkness' gift was, we looked away nervously.

Aqua unwrapped the box and lifted the top revealing the many letters and drawings from the kids of the town. As she looked through them, her face remained somewhat expressionless.

"Umm, Aqua, do you…like it?"

Aqua didn't reply to Darkness, she simply kept looking through all of the remaining items. Minutes later, after she placed the last letter down, she sighed.

Darkness, Megumin, and Irene stared at her in anticipation.

"Thanks, Darkness; your present **is** the most useless"—Darkness began to grow red—"but it's also the most heartfelt."

After the addition, Darkness fell to her knees with a breath of relief and said, "Irene helped as well."

Aqua turned to the maid and smiled. "Thank you, Irene. Just know if anything bad should happen, you can always seek shelter with the Axis Order."

She gave a slightly forced smile. "I'll keep that in mind, Aqua-sama."

Aqua closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A few seconds later, she opened them with a wide smile, saying, "This an occasion for celebration!" She placed the bottle of Holy Reverie on the table. "Be grateful, today you get to taste some of the best alcohol this Kingdom has."

I smirked. "I was gonna get sneak me some if you didn't offer anyways."

"Everyone except Kazuma."

"Oi!"

We ended up drinking the entire bottle well into midnight. By then, only Aqua and I were awake. Megumin had dozed off on the couch and was sleeping on my lap. Darkness was helped by Irene to her room, and since the maid herself didn't have much to drink, she simply went to bed soon after.

"You know," I said, "this stuff's not half bad; I feel a little numb, but not really all that drunk."

"Mhm." Aqua smiled blissfully; she had the most drinks by far. "Thank you, Kazuma."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I broke your other bottle so—"

"No, I mean for sticking with me."

"Oh? Well, sometimes I question that decision."

Aqua went quiet.

"…hey, come on, don't go quiet all of a sudden; it's not like you."

"…umu. I'm really glad for it all." She turned her head towards me. A single tear slid down her cheek. "I wonder if I'll find happiness like this once you're all gone."

Her words sent a chill throughout my body; for the first time in a long time, I felt like a human, a mortal. Sure, I always thought I was weak, but having friends in high places helped stave off the feeling of helplessness and the dread of death. Her words shattered that perception, and for a second, I felt all those fears flood into me like a valley at the bottom of a broken dam.

I looked away sharply. "Don't…don't say something like that."

I swallowed deeply, trying to hold back the odd feeling in my chest. A future without Aqua…I didn't really have to think about it; it was possibility, but not a certainty. However, for Aqua, it was the opposite; one day, we'll pass, and she'll still be around. I realized, the feelings in my chest weren't my own emotions, but hers; I could understand how she felt right now, the feelings of losing something precious to you, forever. I pitied her.

She broke the dreadful silence between us. "You don't have to worry about that though; as long as I'm around, I'll make sure you to bring you back, ok?"

I stared at her, and then looked away slightly. "It's not something you have to worry about either; that won't happen for a long time. I'm sure between now and then…"

Aqua closed her eyes and smiled. "A hikkiNEET will always be a hikkiNEET; you're no hero, but that's why I think it's fun being around you. Thank you for everything, Kazuma." She stood up and gave me a reassuring smile. "Goodnight."

She began walking off towards her room.

"Aqua!"

"Hm?"

"…goodnight."

She smiled once again, and then continued to her room.

Once she disappeared out of my sight, I sighed deeply. I stared at the sleeping girl whose head was on my lap; even the normally calming expression she had when she slept wasn't enough to quell the roiling feelings of negativity within me. I sat in silence for several minutes, the light crackling and warmth of the fireplace helping to soothe my soul.

After some time passed, I felt myself return to some semblance of normality; there were still lingering feelings, but for the most part, the more depressing thoughts were gone. Normally, I would take Megumin to her room, but tonight I felt particularly vulnerable, so I brought her to my own. As I settled into my bed, I quietly laughed to myself; to think that I'd be seeking comfort in a girl younger than me.

Megumin stirred awake. "Kazuma?"

"Hey, is it alright if you stay tonight?"

My question seemed to knock all weariness from her; she sat up slightly. "Everything ok?"

"Ah, yeah, just had an odd conversation with Aqua earlier."

"Odd? Like what?"

"...can we not talk about it?"

"…Kazuma…are you sure you're ok?"

"…umu."

She stared at me worriedly. "…I'll be back; let me go change."

"Sure."

At my response, her brows scrunched together slightly. After a few more seconds of worried stares, she left.

I stared up the dimly lit ceiling and pulled the covers up to my neck. As a few minutes went by, I closed my eyes to attempt to sleep. My door opened; Megumin returned, she was in her pajamas.

"That was fast," I commented as she slid into the covers.

"Umu, I was worried about you."

"I already told you, I'm fine."

"You're clearly not."

I frowned. "So, you can suddenly tell—"

"Of course, then again, it wouldn't even take a Crimson Demon to be able to tell."

"…"

"Kazuma, if you don't wanna say anything about it, I understand." She briefly went quiet, seemingly recalling something. "It's ok, you don't have to worry about it." Megumin scooched closer to me and wrapped her arms around my stomach, her head laying on my chest. "I'll be here if you need me."

"…thanks, Megumin."

_**-Afternoon**_

As I woke up, I sat up and yawned.

"Finally awake?" Megumin said; she was seated at the small table in my room.

She was clothed in her adventuring robes, so I assumed she woke well before me.

"I hope you slept well," She continued with knit brows. "Because you wouldn't wake up, I had to go do my Explosion routine without you."

I yawned once more. "Ok, so what's the problem?"

"What do you mean, 'what's the problem'?! I didn't have someone to rate my Explosion! If it was merely to go cast it, I would've been fine with anyone, but I feel like today it was a really good one and there was no one around with as much knowledge on explosions like you or me!"

"Alright, alright, I get it; I'll make sure to go with you next time."

Megumin smiled. "Good."

"Hey, have you been here all this time?"

She nodded. "After I came back with Darkness and Aqua, I slept on the couch for a couple hours, and then decided to come up here and do some reading while you slept."

"Eh, couldn't you do that in your own room?"

Megumin looked away slightly. "I was still sort of worried about you."

I grinned proudly. "Ah, hearing you say things like that really helps me forget how much trouble you could be sometimes."

She stared angrily at me, but otherwise didn't react strongly to my comment. "By the way, Kazuma, Darkness found a pretty good quest for us to do."

"Quest? What for?"

"We've been idle for a while now, aren't you bored?"

"Not really."

Megumin sighed. "I thought as much. Still, we should take a quest from time to time and this one doesn't seem too bothersome."

"How so?"

"It's a quest for land clearing."

"Land clearing? And Darkness chose it?"

"Umu."

I scrunched my brow in suspicion. "Oi, Megumin, you'd tell me if there was something odd about a quest like this, right?"

"Of course."

"_Is it really just land clearing? Why would Darkness choose something so safe? And why would this girl go along with it; as far as quests go, she's as unreasonable as Darkness. That's right, Megumin wouldn't take such a benign quest unless it rewarded an amazing amount of experience. _So, let me get this straight, there isn't anything strange with this quest; it's just a simple land clear?"

Megumin nodded.

I frowned. "I don't buy it. There's gotta be something going on with this if both of you are onboard."

"Hey, what do you take me for; even I'm ok with simple quests from time to time."

"Sure, I mean what do **you** get from all this?"

"I get to cast Explosion and the experience yield from the quest is supposed to be quite high."

"_So, my assumption was correct._ Didn't you cast Explosion already; how are you—"

"A manatite crystal."

"Right…I still don't get why Darkness would choose it though. What did Aqua have to say about all this?"

"She was ok with it after we explained its simplicity. Along with the high experience yield, the money reward is also large since the amount of land we'll be clearing is pretty huge."

I rubbed my chin; it all seemed too good to be true. Sure, I didn't need the money, but experience was always something I wanted to capitalize on, and if I could get a ton of it without having to fight dangerous enemies, all the better. "One last question; if it's such a simple quest with great rewards, how come no one else is taking it?"

Megumin smiled. "The quest is actually pretty difficult because the of the amount of land that needs to be cleared. Lucky for you, you happen to have an expert on clearing large amounts of space; with Explosion we'll be able to wrap up this quest quickly."

I still felt some reservations, but since all my questions were answered, I couldn't really turn down such an opportunity.

"Alright."

Darkness and Aqua were ready when me and Megumin came down.

"Kazuma, Megumin." Darkness looked to us both. "Are we taking the quest?"

"Sure," I replied. "And just to make sure, there's nothing weird with this quest, right; we're just clearing land?"

Darkness nodded. "The quest objective is to clear land for the plotting of more farmlands. Axel has been gaining more people, so the agricultural committee posted this request in order to make sure there's enough food to go around. As adjutant lord I couldn't really turn it down, so I'm kind of glad you accepted."

"Eh, so that's it; you could've just told me it was for that reason."

The rewards involved were starting to make sense with this revelation. I looked over at Aqua and noticed she was polishing away at the weird rock Megumin gifted her. She didn't seem to be sad anymore, more like distracted, as such, I felt some relief.

"Alright, let's get going."

**Part 4**

_**-On the outskirts**_

"This is it," Darkness informed.

I looked back; the city walls weren't far behind. "Hey, aren't we a bit too close to town? Using Explosion from this distance will just end up blowing another hole in the wall."

Megumin interjected. "Heh, you should know by now how much control I have over my explosions; I'll just tweak it a bit."

"Oi, listen here, if something happens to the wall, I'm **not** paying for it; you'll have to look for a job."

"Eh?" Megumin quickly turned away and pulled her hat low. "S-Something like this is child's play to someone of my caliber." She struck a pose and smiled confidently. "That's right, there's no problem; watch me, Kazuma, I'll produce the finest explosion yet. Having missed the one from this morning, I'm sure you're eagerly anticipating it."

"Ehhh, right." I pulled out a large manatite crystal from my satchel and handed it to Megumin.

After absorbing the latent mana it stored, the crystal shattered and turned to dust.

"Alright, here it goes!" Megumin yelled. "EXPLOOOOOSSSION!"

A massive shockwave swept across the field, stripping the land bare of fauna and revealing the terrain below. True to her word, Megumin tweaked her Explosion precisely; its effects were felt far and wide, however, the walls behind us took miniscule, if any, damage.

"Umu, that was a good one, Megumin." I surveyed the aftermath; besides a fairly large crater, it would seem our objective was met.

"Ha! Told you, Kazuma," She replied, face down in the dirt.

"Yeah, I gotta say I'm impressed; would be more impressive if you weren't in such a disgraceful state though."

"I, I can't help it."

"Right, right. Ok, let's head back to the guild and collect our reward." As I went to pick up Megumin, the ground started to shake. "Oi, what's going on; is it an earthquake?"

Darkness withdrew her sword with a smile. "It's here, it's here!"

"No wait, what's here?!"

Suddenly, the ground burst open and a massive centipede-like creature emerged.

"Wha, what the hell is that?!" I yelled.

Darkness giggled happily. "It's an Antlion Queen."

"You idiot! You knew this was gonna happen, didn't you?! Why the hell is something like that so close to town?!"

Aqua, who quickly hid behind me, tugged at my shirt. "Ka-Kazuma, this seems dangerous, maybe we should just leave it to the guards and adventurers."

"I'll cover you, Kazuma; take the others and—"

"Are you stupid?! There's no way you can take on something like that by yourself; we have to retreat!"

"B-But the town; if we leave now, it'll be in danger."

"_This stupid girl! Goddamn it, why do they always have to do so many unnecessary things?!" _I quickly assessed our options_. "Fighting this thing on our own would likely be a death sentence and the only one capable of putting any damage on it is currently face down in the dirt. Our best course of action is to—"_

"KAZUMA!" Aqua yelled. "What are you doing; it's headed this way!"

"Ahhh, damn it!" I picked Megumin up. "Darkness, let's retreat!"

"But Kazuma."

"Shut up and run you idiot!"

As we turned to do just that, the monster slid past us. Though it was large enough to completely ignore the wall, it chose to assault it directly. The guards manning the ramparts began to attack it, which in turn grabbed the monster's attention.

"Kazuma!" Darkness yelled; she stared angrily at the situation unfolding on the wall.

"I know!"

Suddenly the town's sirens blared, and an emergency broadcast went out announcing the Antlion Queen as a high bounty target.

Megumin shook my shoulder lightly. "Kazuma."

"What is it?"

"Get me some more manatite; I'll be able to kill this thing if I can just hit it with Explosion."

"You can't, it's already too close to the town."

I felt her grasp me tightly in frustration.

"Kazuma-kun, Megumin." Yunyun showed up with Vanir, Wiz, and Gren.

"Yunyun, what are you doing here?" Megumin asked from my back.

"I was—nevermind that, why are you guys running away from the walls?"

"I'm out of mana."

"So, that Explosion earlier…" Yunyun sighed. "Of course." Then she smirked. "Don't worry, Megumin, I'll deal with the monster."

"Eh, you deal with the monster; nope, not possible; only magic of the grandest scale would hurt something like that. Unless?!" Megumin quickly sat up, causing me to stumble slightly. "D-Did you learn Explosion too, Yunyun?!"

"Of course not!"

"Ah, I see, I was about to welcome you wholeheartedly; I would've proudly called you my rival."

"P-Proudly? Does that mean…ahhhhh, forget it! Wiz-san is a better mage than either of us so—"

Megumin stiffened up. "Wi, Wiz?" She began squeezing my shoulders tightly. "T-That's right, Wiz knows Explosion, doesn't she?" Megumin started to laugh nervously.

"Explosion?" Wiz queried. "No, I wouldn't—"

"That's it! Kazuma, give me another manatite crystal!"

"Oi, didn't I tell you—"

She shook me furiously. "I refuse to be showed up! No, I mean, the town, I refuse to let the town be assailed by the forces of darkness! That, that's right, my Crimson Demon blood calls out to me to protect the misfortunate from such creatures! Big, long, and hard things like that are the only things my magic is good enough for!"

"_This…does this girl know no shame?_ Oi, Vanir, you gonna take part?_"_

"Moi, take part thy current engagement? Is it not thy party's fault for causing this mess in the first place?"

We looked away sharply.

"Or perchance is it thy insidious pet priest's fault; after all, moi seems to recall it's its 'day of birth'."

It was a challenge, but I managed to hold Aqua back whilst dealing with Megumin.

"In any case, moi will be helping with the protection of the helpless ones within the town."

"Hm, I see."

"Kazuma-sama, it's nice to see you again." Gren bowed deeply.

"Ah, Gren, it's good to see you too…_I guess._"

"Shop assistant, come with moi, thou needs thy help with securing the little ones around town."

"Oh?" Aqua said smugly. "And here I thought Kazuma was the only questionable person around children."

"Oi!"

"Seems odd considering your alignment."

Vanir laughed haughtily. "Says the petulant priest who's often seen socializing with the same children."

"…"

"SACRED EXCORCISM!"

"HWAHH." Vanir dodged gracefully.

And the beam hit Wiz. "WAHHHHH!"

"Wiz!" All of us but the two tied in the current bout yelled.

"YOU IDOIT!" I quickly grabbed Aqua by her collar.

"Wha—Kazuma, what do you think you're—"

"Look at what you've done!"

"Ah, Wiz…just give her a little bit of mana and she'll be fine."

"That's not the point, you idiot, who's gonna deal with the monster now?!"

"Ah…oh."

Vanir laughed. "Seems like the foolish priest has finally shown thy true colors; moi says, thou and thy kin are the true agents of chaos."

Given all her past actions, I found it kind of hard to argue with Vanir's insult. After transferring mana to Wiz and Megumin, Vanir and Gren left to tend to their original goal.

"Kazuma, we should head back and deal with the monster," Megumin remarked.

Looking at Wiz, although she was no longer disappearing, she was in no condition to fight.

"I agree with Megumin," Darkness said.

"What exactly can we do, we're not really equipped to handle urban combat," I retorted.

Yunyun interjected. "Don't worry, I'll help."

"Hey, Darkness…Kazuma-kun?" It was the Goddess of Luck and my silver-haired companion. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Chris," Darkness replied. "We're about to head to the wall."

"Hmm…is she ok?" Chris pointed at Wiz.

"She'll be fine," Aqua said offhandedly.

"Guys, we're wasting time here," Darkness said with a bit of seriousness in her voice.

"Right. Hey, Boss—I mean, Chris, is there any way you can look after Wiz?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Thanks, alright let's—"

"Hold on, Kazuma," Megumin interrupted. "I still need more mana; I won't be able to do anything in my current condition."

Yunyun quickly responded. "Using Explosion in the town is gonna make matters worse, Megumin; you can't use it!"

Just as Megumin was about to fire back, I stood up. "She can't use it in town, so we'll just have to…Darkness, go ahead and distract the monster, pull it away from the walls as best you can. Yunyun, help Darkness pull aggro, but stay to the rear. Aqua, help the others with your support spells."

"Kazuma, Kazuma, what about me; what should I do?"

"Come with me."

_**-Back at the mansion…**_

"Are you looking for a manatite crystal?" Megumin queried as I rummaged through a large lockbox.

"Yeah, but most of the ones here won't be enough."

"It's fine, smaller ones can still restore my mana; we'll just have to use multiple."

"Alright. Listen, Megumin, the plan is simple, me, Darkness, and Yunyun will draw the monster's aggro to pull it away from the town. Once we're far enough away, you go ahead and unleash your Explosion to finish it."

"Umu, got it." Megumin nodded.

_**-The front gates…**_

"Dammit, the walls are taking heavy damage and we've sustained heavy casualties."

"Captain."

"Lady Dustiness, what are you—"

"Pull the wounded back, my companion will take care of them."

"Ah, it's Lady Aqua. Thank you, Dustiness-sama, I was unsure how much longer we'd be able to stop it from breaking into the town."

"I'm headed down to confront it on my own; have the others fall back."

"Ah, L-Lady Dustiness…gah…such bravery. I'm sorry we're so useless!"

"Nonsense, you all are the pillar of strength we need; you've done your part, now, let me do mine."

The captain bit her lip in regret but ordered the retreat.

"_Good, now I have it all to myself. Now, I hope Kazuma and Megumin take their time—"_

"Darkness, what are you doing; why is that thing still near the walls?!" It was Kazuma.

"Gck. Kazuma, did you find everything you needed?"

"Umu; Megumin is ready to go. Get down there and use Decoy, me and Yunyun will head towards the forest and bombard it from afar."

"Right, leave it to me."

For some reason, as Darkness headed down the ramparts, she had small tears beading the corner of her eyes.

"Kazuma." Megumin got my attention. "Go with Yunyun, I'll get into position."

"Ok, I'm counting on you."

"Umu, don't worry, it'll be spectacular."

"Eh, no, no, it just needs to be a normal Explosion, nothing spectacular."

Megumin nodded with a wide smile; it was not reassuring. Nevertheless, I got off the wall and met up with Yunyun.

"Kazuma-kun." Yunyun was hidden behind a small overgrowth along the road.

"Hey, Yunyun." I knelt beside her.

"Are we simply supporting Darkness-san?"

"No, that blockhead is durable enough to take a couple hits from that thing…I think. We'll head towards the forest and hit it from afar; once it pulls away from the town, Megumin will hit it with Explosion."

"Ok, sounds good."

Normally, taking shelter within the forest would be a foolish move, but thanks to the Devil King's defeat and the presence of such a powerful monster, anything that could pose a threat would either be drawn to it or scared away. That's right, my plan was simple, but I felt proud in coming up with such an effective strategy; any possible issue was already covered for.

After me and Yunyun arrived at the edge of the forest, I withdrew a special arrow made for such fearsome foes.

"_It might not be as good as the real thing, but even its earlier versions were able to seriously injure a Demon King's General."_

"Oh, Kazuma-kun, is that one of those Explosion arrows?"

I nodded, lit the fuse, and then silently took aim at the back of the large monster.

"Go for it, Yunyun! SNIPE!"

I released the arrow and as it flew off, Yunyun started her own offensive.

"CURSED LIGHTNING!"

The attacks made contact at nearly the same time. When the small cloud of smoke cleared, the carapace of the Antlion Queen was barely damaged, however, they were still effective at pulling its attention from Darkness and more importantly, the town.

"Alright, Yunyun, it's headed this way; cast Teleport and take us back to Axel."

As soon as we arrived back in Axel, we ran towards the ramparts to meet up with the others.

Upon arriving, I saw that Megumin was still standing proudly; meaning she hadn't fired off her Explosion spell yet.

"Oi, what's the hold up, didn't I say—"

"Oh, Kazuma, you're back; I was waiting for your return."

"Are you stupid?! What's wrong with you guys?! Hurry up and hit it with Explosion before it decides to head back over here!"

Megumin glared at me but quickly turned towards the monster near the forest's edge.

"Oh, cursed fiend, blame your fate upon the dark gods which realized your creation. From the fiery pits you came, and from whence you shall return. Burn to ashes. BLAZING EXPLOOOSSION!"

A blinding fireball erupted in the distance, a second later the sweltering heatwave embraced us all, instantly causing shield our eyes and face. When the enormous glow died down, we look towards the forest.

"Ah, the forest, the forest is burning!" One of the adventurers yelled.

"The forest? No, not the forest!" Said another person.

"_Oi…"_

"We need the forest to live!" Cried out a citizen.

"_Wait…"_

"No, the lumber trade; Axel depends heavily upon it!" A man who appeared to be a merchant revealed.

"_Hold on…"_

"Why, who would do such a thing?!" An old lady said as she dropped to her knees.

"It was the crazy loli mage!" Another adventurer said.

"Yeah," a certain blonde-haired delinquent said. "She's the only one who knows Explosion around here!"

"Eh?" Megumin quickly looked around nervously; of course, in her vulnerable state, she looked to everyone frantically. "I-I'm not the only one who knows Explosion technically!"

"Hey, don't blame the beautiful shopkeep for your blunders!" Dust yelled.

"_That's right, Dust, you tell her."_

"I-I, I, I did it on Kazuma's orders!"

"_Eh?"_

Everyone shifted their attention to me.

"OI, YOU! I thought you were supposed to be on my side!"

"Don't worry, Kazuma," Aqua said as she noticed the commotion, "lucky for you, I'm the Goddess of Water; putting out a fire like this is no problem. SACRED CREATE WATER!"

A familiar deluge of water fell upon the forest and instantly snuffed out the fire.

Aqua smiled proudly, and then nudged my arm. "Go ahead and praise me; I just saved—"

"Hey," one of the adventurers nearby said, "doesn't it look like all that water is heading towards us?"

"…" Aqua stiffly looked towards me.

"YOU DAMN IDIOTS!"

"Everyone, get off the wall, it's headed this way!" The adventurer warned.

I wanted to leave the one responsible for all of this on the floor, but against my dark wish, I picked her up and ran.

Moments later, the flood of water crashed into the wall. Small cracks began to form as water shot through them, eventually, the entire section collapsed and the southern district of Axel was once again, flooded.

_**-Back at the Guild…**_

"Kazuma-san." It was Luna, the lead receptionist of the guild; she was smiling, but I knew what it meant.

She waved us over; we were seated at one of the tables awaiting the calculation of payment but headed over to the window once she signaled us.

"Ok, you're awarded the initial 6,000,000 eris for completion of the terrain clearing and the additional 650,000 for the extermination of the threatening monster said to live underneath."

My eye twitched; it seems like possible threats were outlined in the quest log.

"For defeating the high bounty target, The Antlion Queen, your party is awarded an additional 220,000,000 eris bringing your total rewards to 226,650,000 eris."

"_Right, so now…"_

"Now, as for the fees incurred. It'll be 225,000,000 eris to fix the broken section of wall."

I let out a sigh of relief. _"At least there's something left."_

Luna flipped the page and continued.

"345,000,000 in district and infrastructural damage, 20,000,000 for the displacement of homes and businesses, and an additional 228,000,000 in estimated impact to the future lumber trade; your total debt is…591,350,000 eris."

At that moment, I felt my soul leave my body.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling of the living room; it appears I was still alive.

"Hey, Kazuma's awake." It was Darkness's voice.

Honestly, I felt dying would've been less stressful.

"Kazuma, are you feeling better?" Megumin asked.

I sat up and looked around. Megumin was at the foot of the couch, Darkness was to the armchair at the side, and Aqua in her own; our usual configuration.

"Oi, all of you have some explaining to do."

They averted their faces from my gaze.

"I, I don't know what you're talking about, Kazuma," Megumin said somewhat nervously. "Maybe you were just having a bad dream."

"Oi, don't fuck with me! Because of all of you we've racked up a huge debt!"

Aqua quickly interjected. "What's the problem, can't you just pay it off?"

I couldn't believe the gall of this blue thing. I chuckled lightly. "I'M NOT PAYING FOR A DAMN THING! You all were responsible for this; you're paying for this!"

"How is this my fault? I only used my water spell because of Megumin!"

"A, Aqua?!" Megumin looked to me nervously as I narrowed my eyes on her. "I, I only used my fire explosion because it was an insect-type monster!"

"_Oi, what does this loli think this is, poke—"_

"Besides, if I used normal Explosion, pieces of the monster would've been sent flying everywhere; it would've caused more damage."

I knit my brow further; I highly doubt she put **that** much thought into it.

"Hey, what's with that skeptical look? I really did consider such things!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Darkness was the most useful person during this whole thing; not only did she—_wait…because of her, I took this quest in the first place. _Nevermind."

"Wait, Kazuma, you were—"

"I was gonna say that you're the one with the most fault here."

"Huh, how?!"

"Don't 'how' me! We took the stupid quest because of you! Not only that, you clearly knew there were monsters when I asked you!"

"I-I told Megumin about it!"

"Huh?! Liar, you only told me there were Antlions, you never said anything about it being a queen!"

I interrupted. "It doesn't matter! All of you screwed up! So, this time I'm not bailing you guys out; you're getting jobs to pay back the debt."

Aqua quickly pounced on me and began wailing loudly. "KAAZUMA! Kazuma-san, I'm sorry!"

"Get off, I'm not changing my stance on this no matter how much you cry! I always have to end up paying in some way for your mistakes; this time, you guys will pay on your own, see how much **you** guys like it."

"How can you be so mean; it was my birthday yesterday!"

I pressed my finger into her forehead. "That's right, you said it, 'yesterday'. And just to let you guys know how serious I am about this, I decided to give you guys punishments until the debt is cleared."

"P-Punishments?" Our resident masochist stuttered.

"Aqua, you're cut off; no allowances of any sort. Megumin, I'm not accompanying you to your explosions. And Darkness, you…" I stroked my chin in an effort to find something suitable as a punishment; annoyingly, she waited with bated breath. "You, I'm gonna call you Lalatina until all of this is done." Darkness let out a displeased squeal.

They shuddered nervously at the declarations. I wanted to smile at my genius but kept a stern expression. Not only did I not have to worry about the troublesome things like Aqua's allowance or Megumin's Explosion trips, but these punishments also served double as a form of stress relief because of it.

"Well, I'm off; you guys should probably take this time to figure out how you're gonna pay all of this back."

Megumin spoke. "Wait, are you really gonna go out and have your own fun while we handle this debt?!"

"Oi, I'm going out to take care of something important!"

Megumin and Aqua frowned.

Before they could question me further, I headed out the door, leaving the girls to themselves.

"Knowing him, he's probably off to that shop," Aqua said angrily; she took a seat in her armchair.

"Shop?" Darkness queried.

I sat down as well. "Yeah, it's a certain café he tends to visit."

Darkness also took her seat. "A café?" She rubbed her chin inquisitively. "I didn't think Kazuma would frequent such places."

Aqua giggled. "That place is made for guys like him. Hmm, maybe we should go over there and destroy it."

"That's vandalism, Aqua."

"And it'll likely make things worse for us," I added. "So, now what?"

Aqua shrugged. She was petting Emperor Zell and looked unconcerned with the current events. "I don't think we should worry about it too much; give it a bit of time and Kazuma will definitely forget about it."

"I don't believe this is one of those things he'll forgive and forget, Aqua," Darkness informed. "Split evenly, each of us is responsible for roughly 197 million eris; no matter how we look at it, the total debt between us is absolutely massive."

I grimaced at the depressing levels of information. "The only way we're clearing this debt is going after high bounty targets; taking on regular jobs means it would take years."

Aqua interjected. "Again, I think you guys are thinking way too much on this. Why don't you follow my example and just relax?"

"Forgive me." Irene, who was standing in quiet observation, spoke. "Lalatina-sama, you could always just ignore the master's pettiness; it might be out of turn for me to say such things, but the master is certainly capable of paying of a debt he, no doubt, is responsible for."

Darkness shook her head. "No, Irene; this time the fault falls on me. What he said is basically all true; Kazuma isn't responsible for anything this time. Besides, even if it wasn't the case, I can't leave my friends to deal with such matters by themselves."

"…I see." She bowed. "Forgive my foolhardiness."

**Part 5**

Darkness shifted her attention to me. "Going after high bounty targets isn't a bad idea, Megumin, but they'd need to be on the level of the Antlion Queen or higher for it to be worth the time."

"High bounty target?" Aqua said. "I'm not doing something so dangerous; you guys can deal with such things yourselves."

I bit my fingertip in thought. _"Without Aqua we'd be in big trouble."_

Darkness went on. "If I'm being honest, we'd likely need more than just the three of us. While I don't mind acting as the shield for all of us, we'd be lacking another vanguard."

"_Kazuma never said he wouldn't help us clear the debt, but I'm sure he wouldn't like to take part in another bounty; still, if it was just a normal quest, it probably wouldn't amount to much…ughhh…debt. _Wait a minute._"_

"?"

"We could just do things to rectify our mistakes, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Aqua, you could help with the wall's reconstruction; with your aid, I'm sure the resulting wall would be even sturdier than before. Darkness, me and you can go plant some new trees near the forest."

"I see, good thinking, Megumin. If we're able to complete such things, I can see about getting some of the debt waived."

"What do you think, Aqua?"

She sat up lazily. "I don't mind doing a little construction with the boys; it's been a while."

I grinned at the small triumph. "Alright, since today's almost over, we'll set about doing this tomorrow morning."

"I'll start preparing dinner," Irene announced.

_**-A few hours later; late evening**_

"I'm back!"

When I returned the three of them were seated on the couch playing video games.

"Ah, welcome home, Kazuma," Darkness said.

"Is this what you guys been doing since I left?"

Megumin glanced up from the game and answered. "We'll start doing things tomorrow; it was already too late."

"Good." I took a seat beside Aqua, who appeared to be next in line for the control. "So, what did you guys decide on?"

"Hm—oh, Aqua's gonna do construction, Darkness and I are gonna plant some trees in the forest."

"Oh? I'm actually surprised you guys picked such tame stuff to do; I honestly believed you'd pick something stupid like another bounty target."

Megumin flinched and the onscreen character died. She begrudgingly passed the controller. Aqua and her exchanged positions.

"Heh, do you think that's all we're capable of, Kazuma?" She spoke with a sense of pomp and assuredness, but the intermittent twitch of her brow gave her away.

"…that's totally what you were thinking of, wasn't it?"

She looked away, and then quickly gazed at me with a more anxious expression. "Kazuma, this debt is almost as large as the one you once had; if I'm being honest, I don't know if I can pay it all off."

I raised my brow. "Giving up? That isn't like you, or are you trying to get out of it?"

She looked back to Darkness and Aqua, and then spoke in a semi-hushed tone. "Unlike Aqua or Darkness, I'm not good at holding a job."

I stared at her; her gloomy expression made me feel a bit of pity for her. I remembered some of the entries of her diary, the way they recounted her multiple failures at doing menial labor. It wasn't that Megumin was incapable of doing them, rather, her abrasive attitude often got her in trouble.

"It's been a while since you've worked, hasn't it?"

She looked back to me and nodded.

"Then maybe whatever was holding you back has changed. You should try doing it again before you come to that conclusion, I mean, you're not the same Megumin as before, right?"

She stared at me with slight surprise and then looked down with a faint smile. After closing her eyes briefly, she fixed her gaze upon me once more, this time with a pleased smile. "You're right; maybe I'll go around town tomorrow and apply for some jobs."

To think that I'd be capable of encouraging someone to get a job…

Shortly after that conversation, I went to eat the dinner that was saved for me, and then headed for the bath. The mansion was dark when I came out; it seemed to me that everyone turned in early. Due to today's events, I felt somewhat tired. As I laid down and closed my eyes, I could feel my consciousness slip away and soon enough I fell asleep.

_**-Next morning**_

"Probably wise to lay off using Explosion for a while," I said as we walked through the town.

Darkness looked at me incredulously while Aqua asked, "Are you ok, Megumin?"

"I'm fine; in fact, I feel quite good. I just figured using Explosion so soon would probably ruin our case in waiving some of this debt. Darkness, I'm gonna do a few things before we head to the forest; feel free to go do whatever you need to."

"Hmm, in that case, I'll go speak with some of the administrators about coming to an agreement."

"Good idea. Listen, don't worry about me, take your time; if I need help with the planting, I'll just ask Yunyun or something."

"Well, this is me," Aqua said. "I'll see you guys later."

Me and Darkness waved as Aqua walked off towards the construction site.

"I should probably go speak with the foreman about making a deal since we're here," Darkness remarked.

"Umu. We can meet up at the guild hall if anything."

"Ok, see you."

With Aqua and Darkness gone, I set about looking for a job. As I went around to the shops and stands throughout town, I was quickly coming to the realization that finding an employer in Axel would be just as difficult, if not, even more difficult than finding one in the Crimson Village.

The issue was that everyone I spoke to knew me as the "Crazy Explosion Mage", the "Loose Cannon", and the newly acquired, "Firecracker Mage"; who was spreading such disgraceful names? In hindsight, losing my cool in front of prospective employers probably wasn't helping to erase these sentiments about me.

Sitting on a bench in a small section of town, I huffed at my lack of success; it seems things still haven't changed since back then.

"Ahhh, if it isn't the crazy Crimson Demon girl who has a knack for acquiring unsavory epithets."

I looked up to see the masked devil in front of me.

"Are you here to simply make fun of me?"

He laughed. "Moi sees uncertainty upon the expression of thy face; care to share what causes thee distress?"

I frowned; getting involved with this devil was touchy at best. "I'm, I'm looking for a job."

"Hmmm, a job thee says?" The devil rubbed lining of his chin, and then smiled widely. "Moi is always looking for new assistants."

"I'm looking for a job, not to be an unwitting volunteer."

"MWHAHAHA, moi forgets thy penchant for patience is severely lacking."

"I don't have issues being patient." I said this, but I could feel my face scrunch up in anger. "Anyways, if you don't have anything for me, go ahead and scurry along; I'm sure you've got your hands full."

Vanir adopted a more serious expression and stood up straight. "If payment is what thee needs, need moi not remind you that thy cheeky brat received his fortune from moi himself; be of ample and suitable service to moi's needs and moi shall reward you handsomely."

Giving it thought, Vanir was the reason we were pulled out of poverty and into the privileged class. Though dealing with him was something me and Aqua always disapproved of, one couldn't deny, he always delivered on his promises.

I bit my lip. "F-Fine; first tell me what you need of me, then I'll see about working for you."

Vanir stared at me stoically, and then, after a few moments, grinned. "Moi would simply like thee to join thy kin in planting some trees in the forest."

"Planting…_is he reading my thoughts?_"

His lips curled as I pondered this. "A simple task, no? So, what says thee?"

"_If it's planting some trees it's perfect, this is, after all, what I set out to do with Darkness anyways._ Fine, I'll do it."

"Wonderful! Thy friend awaits at the shop, follow moi."

When I entered the shop, I saw Yunyun browsing several wares on the shelf. First to greet both me and Vanir was Gren, which in turn, caught Yunyun's attention.

"Megumin, what are you doing here?"

"I wasn't aware I needed a reason to be here."

"T-That's not what I meant!"

Vanir interrupted. "Crimson Demon friend, moi has sought further assistance for the task assigned. Would thee go with thy companions and finish this request?"

Yunyun looked between me and Vanir, and then settled her eyes on me. "Megumin's is helping with planting trees?"

"Of course. I was sitting at the park when this devil asked for my help. Being the great friend I am, I couldn't just leave you to do this task all by yourself."

"Ehhh? Technically I was going with Gren-san, so I wouldn't be alone."

"…"

The masked devil pitched in. "And didn't thee ask moi for help seeking employment?"

"…"

"MWAHAHA, thy humiliation is a fitting snack for moi; please continue telling such embarrassing lies."

I wanted to blow this devil up.

_**-On the way towards the forest…**_

"I'm surprised to see you alone, Megumin; where are the others?"

"Kazuma's at the mansion sleeping, Aqua's helping with the reconstruction, and Darkness went to ask for some favors."

"Hmm, so Megumin wanted to do something worthwhile today, how noble."

"Quit patronizing me, Yunyun. Hey, Gren-san, don't let this girl fool you, she's been a loner as long as she's lived and tends to inflate her ego by telling lies to make—"

Yunyun quickly threw her hands over my mouth. "Ok, ok!"

Gren giggled lightly. "Megumin-san, sorry to ask, but has Kazuma-sama found anything regarding my sister?"

"Ah…I'm not sure; he hasn't said to me about it." Gren looked down in gloom. "Rest assured," I quickly said, "we're trying our best to find leads concerning her whereabouts though."

Hearing this, Gren smiled faintly. "Thank you. Even if the information gathered should be the worst, please, don't hesitate to inform me; I've been restless with concern."

"…I understand; I too have a little sister."

"Oh, Megumin-san does?"

I nodded. "Her name's Komekko; that girl is always making her older sister worry."

Yunyun spoke. "Despite how she looks, Megumin is actually a pretty caring person."

"Hey, what do you mean 'despite how I look'?"

The two of them laughed and after more bickering and conversation we were stood at the edge of the burnt forest.

"Geez, Megumin, you really did a number on this place."

"I know; isn't the power of my Explosion a fearsome thing to behold?"

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Alright, quit your nonsensical talking, did you bring the seeds, Yunyun?"

She sighed, and then dug into the small pouch on her waist. "Vanir-san said to only use three seeds, ok?"

"Then why'd he give you so much more?"

Realizing how stupid this was, Yunyun stared at me in embarrassment. "J-Just—HERE, three seeds!"

"Huh, don't give them all to me; I came to help, not do all the work. There're three seeds and three of us, so we'll each take one. I'll go over there and plant this one, you two should spread out."

"Good thinking, Megumin-san," Gren said in praise.

After walking some distance away, I searched for an open spot to plant the seed.

"Alright, this looks like a good place."

I squat down and dug a fairly deep hole with my hands. The soil was pitch black and warm to the touch; even a day after, the heat of the flames still lingered deep within the earth. I took the small container attached to my belt and opened it, pouring a bit of water into the hole. No sooner than touching the dirt did it disappear, the ground hungrily absorbing it like a living entity.

I dropped the seed into the hole and covered it up. A few seconds later, a small stalk sprouted from the dirt, its deep green complexion a stark contrast to the surrounding black.

I smiled and cleaned off the excess dirt from my hands.

"AHHHHHH!"

A screamed pierced the relative silence; it came from the direction of the others. I quickly got to my feet and sprinted towards it.

When I arrived, I saw Gren halfway up a tree, hanging on for her dear life; below her, were several Antlions, their enormous vices gnawing eagerly at the air.

"Megumin!" Yunyun arrived shortly after. "Oh no, Gren-san."

"_Damn, Antlions; these must be part of the hive. After killing the queen, they must've broken off._ Yunyun, I need your help."

"Megumin…do you have a plan?"

"Umu. Use your magic to get their attention, get them as far away as possible. I'll use that opportunity to get Gren-san down, and then regroup with you."

"Alright. LIGHT OF SABER!"

In an instant, one of the Antlions was hewn in two; the rest, turned towards Yunyun and retreated underground; they were preparing to attack. As per my instruction, Yunyun ran in the opposite direction, the Antlions surfacing just behind her in chase.

"You can come down now, Gren-san."

She did. "Megumin-san, what about Yunyun?"

"She'll be fine for the moment, but don't worry, I'll go save her. Find someplace safe and far away from here, ok?"

Gren nodded, and then took off.

After watching her to make sure nothing else troubled her, I turned in the direction where Yunyun ran and made my way towards her.

"Yunyun!"

"Megumin!"

The Antlions had surrounded her and were slowly approaching. Yunyun looked around nervously, her wand pointing tentatively at the numerous targets.

"Yunyun, use Teleport and get out of here!"

"But, Megumin, if I do that, you'll be alone!"

"Humph, do you really believe a bunch of Antlions are a threat to me; I took out their queen, these grubs are nothing to me!"

"Stop saying such stupid things, Megumin only knows Explosion, if I leave and you cast it, you'll be in a vulnerable position; what would happen then?!"

"Eh." I shirked back in realization but quickly regained my composure, clearing my throat loudly in the process. "You're running out time, Yunyun; don't worry, I got this!"

"You're being irresponsible again, Megumin; you just want to fire off your Explosion! Our efforts will be pointless!"

"Hey, shut up and go, already!"

"Ahhh, Teleport!"

The loner vanished and the Antlions instantly turned their attention to me.

With a smirk, I pulled off my eye patch. "Rue this day, foul creatures, but worry not, for I am your merciful destroyer. Soon you will be reunited with your louse of a queen…in Hell. Disintegrate! EXPLOOOOOSSION!"

"Really, Megumin, how could you be such an idiot?!" Yunyun yelled as she carried me.

"There was no choice," I declared with a satisfied smile.

"If we coordinated a little bit, I'm sure I would've been able to take care of them without you having to use your Explosion spell and without having to ruin our work! What do you think Vanir-san is gonna say—or Kazuma-kun?!"

"!"

"I'm sure once Kazuma-kun knows you blew up more of the forest he's gonna be even more—"

"It-It's fine; he won't know, cause he won't find out, because you won't tell him, right?"

Yunyun sighed heavily. "You should really consider how much trouble you cause other people with that unrestrained attitude of yours…"

Gren, who was walking alongside us, said, "Personally, I believe Megumin-san's spell was a sight to behold; even as far as I was, I could still see it."

"Aha, another person who can appreciate the magnificence of Explosion magic."

"Gren-san, please don't enable her."

She smiled playfully.

"Really, Megumin, we wasted those seeds—"

"Did you really think I fired it off without thought; I made sure to tweak my Explosion to be enough to destroy the Antlions but nothing else."

"The swathes of fallen trees say otherwise."

"They're burnt, it wouldn't take much to have them fall over."

Yunyun sighed once more. "Well, I suppose it's ok then."

"Umu. Even **if** the seeds were uprooted, I don't think we have to worry."

"Why's that?"

"Cause I made sure to plant the other ones you had."

"…"

After returning to the store with Yunyun and Gren, I received my payment in the form of a manatite crystal and small pouch of eris. According to the masked devil, the payment was in direct correlation to my work, and despite wanting to fire back, I held my tongue; I had to try and rein in this argumentative attitude which caused me so many problems.

Taking my compensation, I said my goodbyes and decided to return home. I had originally planned on meeting up with Darkness at the guild hall, but it was becoming fairly late and I was tired and dirty from messing around in the forest.

"I'm home," I said as I entered.

Kazuma was lounging on the couch playing on the handheld. He was still in his tracksuit and his hair was messy, so I could only assume he woke up recently.

"Ah, Megumin. How'd everything go?"

"Busy." I collapsed beside him, my body slumping into his.

"Guh—oi, you stink."

I glared at him. "I was working…unlike someone."

"Oh? Then go ahead and wash up."

I looked around curiously; the house was quiet. "Is Aqua and Darkness back?"

"Hm? No, I don't think so; you're the first I've seen."

"How about Irene?"

"Ah, the maid? She said something about needing to do some personal work, so she left sometime earlier."

"Oh, I see."

Kazuma sat up. "In celebration for getting a job, how about I cook something for you?"

"Cook something…I don't mind."

"Ok, what do you want me to cook?"

"Anything's fine."

"Really, you're gonna waste a request like that?"

"Fine, how about something with a lot of meat in it?"

"Hmm, the season is good for a hotpot; I'll see about making a shabu-shabu."

As he went to get up, I grabbed his arm.

"Megu—"

"Hey, Kazuma, do you want to take a bath together?"

"…"

"Nothing silly, just a simple bath, I promise."

Kazuma stared at me worriedly, and then sighed. "Well, I haven't taken one today so…"

The door opened and Kazuma walked in, towel around his waist. "So, do you wanna go first or—"

"Me first, please."

He took a seat behind me. "Umm, I-I can't really wash your back with the—"

"Right." I shifted the towel, so my back was exposed.

I waited in anticipation, but when the washcloth pressed against my skin, I flinched. After a few minutes of scrubbing, Kazuma dumped a bucket of warm water onto me. He scooped another, and then dumped it on himself.

"Oi, Megumin, I know you said nothing silly, but…"

I felt my body slowly curl up in reflex; my muscles beginning to tense, my heart rate, rise. Suddenly, I could feel my hair slowly lift from my back.

"Hey, Megumin, your hair is pretty long now."

"Umu. Do you…like it?"

Kazuma remained quiet, but I felt him run his fingers through, finally he said, "Yeah."

With how hard my heart was beating, I thought it was about to burst through my chest. I swallowed deeply. "Do you want it longer?" I asked.

"Longer?" Kazuma went quiet once more, then after nearly a minute, he spoke. "Is it too much trouble? I heard having long hair is somewhat annoying for a girl."

"It is…but it can't be helped." I leaned back and stared at him with a smile. "It can't be helped if my hopeless pervert of a husband demands it."

"Oi, I never demanded—"

I giggled, and then got up. "Your turn."

"My turn?"

"Umu, to wash your back."

"Ah, right."

We traded places. As Kazuma took his seat, I stared at his back. With how often I saw him lazing about, it was sort of unthinkable to believe that it was this defined; had it always been? I touched it curiously. Similar to me, Kazuma flinched.

"Megumin?"

"Sorry, you had a cut on your back so…"

"Ah…"

I began scrubbing and just like earlier, silence befell us.

"Kazuma."

"Yeah?"

"Have you been…exercising?"

"Hm? Not really; why?"

"You haven't?"

"I mean, not deliberately anyways. Why, am I starting to gain weight or something?"

As he spoke, I began to notice that Kazuma was fairly muscular, but not overly so; he was quite lean. They were details not readily apparent under normal circumstances.

"No, you're fine; just wanted to ask."

"…why, do you like muscular guys?"

"I like Kazuma; so, it doesn't really matter."

"…I mean…would you be fine if I turned into a ball?"

I smiled. "Kazuma is already other forms of inanimate objects so being another wouldn't really change anything."

"Oi, come on; I mean if I gained a lot—"

"I know what you mean, but I didn't fall in love with you for your looks." I could feel Kazuma's body tense up. I couldn't help but giggle in response. Pressing my forehead to his nape, I continued. "I fell in love with who you are; I've accepted everything about you, Kazuma, I've told you this."

After a brief moment, I pulled away and dumped the bucket of water onto him.

"Here." I handed him the washcloth and took one of my own.

I pressed my back against his and began scrubbing the rest of my body.

"I thought you were gonna—"

"No silly stuff, remember? I know how difficult it is for Kazuma to resist, so I'm not gonna tempt you."

"A little late for that, don't you think?"

I smirked. "Just finish scrubbing yourself."

Kazuma sighed.

Though there were some awkward moments and mild feelings of reservation, the rest of the bath was peaceful.


	9. Chapter 8: The Gift of Friendship

**Chapter 8: The Gift of Friendship**

**Part 1**

Nearly a month went by as we continued to work. Kazuma took the time to brush up on his skills, taking several trips to the capital as a result. On one of these days, while he was out, Aqua, Darkness, and I all sat in the living room huddled over the coffee table.

"Ok, Aqua's got 273,800, I made 2 million, and you made 3,400,000."

"Wait, how come all of you made so much more than me?!"

"Hmm, what's the going rate for construction?" Darkness asked.

"Just about 30 thousand a day."

"I see; administration work pays 150,000."

"WHY?!" Aqua shook Darkness angrily, tears in her eyes. "Construction is so much harder! Darkness, help me get administration work; you don't really do anything, right?!"

"Of-Of course I do!"

She let go and crossed her arms with a pout. "How about you, Megumin, how'd **you** make so much?"

"I'm working in Wiz's shop."

"Wiz?! That girl! She's that stacked and she didn't even tell me?! Wait till I—"

"Technically Vanir is paying me so…"

Aqua stared at me with a look of disbelief. "Kazuma I could understand, but you too, Megumin? How many times have I said—"

"I know, I know, don't trust a devil. I get it, and for the most part, I agree, but you can't deny his ability to produce funds."

Aqua grimaced; even she couldn't deny this statement. "Even so, don't you guys buy stuff, don't you go out to eat; you shouldn't be making that much more than me!"

Me and Darkness glanced at each other. "I haven't really bought anything, and as far as food is concerned, I make my own lunches or just get Yunyun to pay for it."

Aqua then looked at Darkness.

"I've had to spend a little on armor repairs due to the quests we've taken, but Irene's been handling my lunches."

I interjected. "Speaking of the quests, they've been a large bulk of our rewards, some 10 million eris, so I think we should continue doing them."

Darkness nodded. Aqua was still pouting and on the verge of tears.

Clearing my throat, I continued. "After counting, our total is…15,673,800 eris."

Aqua loudly slammed her hands on the table. "That jerk Kazuma, making us pay for all of this! At this rate it's gonna take forever to pay off this stupid debt!"

"Weren't you the one who said he'd get over it?"

"How was I supposed to know he'd be this stubborn about it?!"

Looking at the sum involved, Aqua was right; we were nearly a month and 16 million eris in and even with that much time and money what we had was barely a drop in the bucket.

"Aqua, you're right; I think we need to find a way to make more money."

"Or we could just stop doing all this; why do **we **have to pay for everything when Kazuma has enough money to go around."

I frowned as I thought about our position. "As much as I hate to admit it, this is our fault; we need to take responsibility for such things."

"Megumin, when did you start becoming so responsible?! Go back to being a kid! It's bad enough I have to listen to that hikkiNEET chastise me! Me, a goddess! The nerve of him."

Darkness pitched in. "The fact of the matter is the only things that payout incredible amounts are bounties."

"We could just ask the princess to waive this stupid debt."

I shook my head in disagreement. "Aqua, that's ridiculous…how would I look like if I asked my underling to do such a thing; I'd lose face."

"That's right, Aqua, there's no way we could ask Iris-sama to do such a thing. And could you stop calling her your underling, Megumin, she's the Princess of this country."

"Iris is Iris and I'm me; such things are as true as the rising sun and the magnificence of Explosion magic."

"Speaking of the Princess, isn't her birthday coming up?"

Darkness nodded. "Umu, it's about a week from now."

I shrugged. "What could we even get her in our current situation?"

"That's true. I wonder if Kazuma is buying something for her?"

"There's no doubt I my mind that loli lover is getting something for the Princess," Aqua replied.

"Maybe we should pay her a visit?" I said.

"Wouldn't it be better to do it on her birthday though?" Aqua queried.

Darkness responded. "It'll probably be pretty difficult to do so, the royal family's birthdays are considered national holidays; besides the typical increase in the amount of people in the capital, there'll also be increased security during the celebration."

"Make sense," I remarked.

"Couldn't we just use our authority to get in though?" Aqua pondered.

Darkness sighed. "As usual, you guys are paying little respect to the authority of noble houses."

I waved off Darkness' complaint. "What good are these medallions if we can't even use it to see a friend?"

She smiled weakly. "Fair enough. So, do you both want to go now?"

"I say we do," Aqua answered. "I finally have day off from work, so I'd like to go do something nice."

"How about you, Megumin?"

"I'm under no obligation to take more work from Vanir; I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Right, I actually have something of an assignment in the capital, so this all works out."

With our minds made up, we went our way to the frequently visited Teleport Station and arrived at the capital. Iris' birthday was still a week out, but even so, the streets were beginning to become filled with the usual allure of market and food stalls and venues befitting a national celebration. The roads were also becoming clogged with the masses of people pouring in from every corner of the kingdom.

"Ugh, this is one thing I wish I could do without." I pushed past a group of idle strangers.

"Seems like we're not the only ones thinking coming early would be a good idea," Darkness remarked.

As we approached the square, the density of the crowds began to thin out; it didn't take long to figure out why.

"Halt!" A female knight yelled as we drew close. "This area is closed off; you may not pass."

The entire square, leading up to palace was completely cordoned off by Imperial knights.

I gave a quick glance to Darkness, but she seemed preoccupied by the woman's command. "Ahem." I cleared my throat loudly; the knight and her peers to her immediate sides looked at me. "We're personal friends of the Princess; we're here to offer her a bountiful birthday."

"Friends? Do you have proof of this?"

I turned to introduce Darkness, but the knight put her hand up and shook her head. "That is Lady Dustiness; however, I'm unsure of who you or that lady behind you is."

"Ah, right." I smirked and with a flick of my cape, said, "My name is Satou Megumin, the Crimson Annihilator, Genius of the Crimson Mages, and Master of Explosion! And this is Aqua."

Aqua stepped forward proudly. "That's right, I'm Aqua, the Goddess of Water and Patron Deity of the Axis Order."

Even before the female knight replied, I knew Aqua's comments would make things difficult.

"Axis?" She said. "As in, the Axis Cult?"

Aqua nodded happily while I shook my head nervously.

The knight looked to her comrades beside her, and they, her, after which, they grabbed me and Aqua.

"H-Hold on!" I said as I tried to break free.

"Hey, didn't I just tell you guys I'm a goddess; what's with you?!"

"W-Wait!" Darkness said.

"Lady Dustiness?"

"Please, let them go. What Megumin said is true and more importantly, they're my friends."

After some hesitance, we were let go. The lady knight spoke. "Lady Dustiness…even if they're friends…" She sighed. "Is there any way you could vouch for these two; solid proof, I don't doubt your word, however—"

"Is this enough?" I said, pulling out the house pendant.

The woman took a glance at it, and then slowly took it in her hand for a closer inspection. "…the Mark of Proof…forgive me…you're the Demon King Slayer's party members."

I had to admit, the fact that the issue was resolved so quickly upon revealing the medallion sent a satisfying tingle up my spine; were house crests really this powerful?

The lady knight spoke once again. "So, this insignia belongs to you, correct?"

I nodded.

"I see…and how about her?" She pointed to Aqua.

"She's also a part of the house." I turned to Aqua. "Aqua, did you bring your pendant?"

"Huh, why would I? I mean we're only coming to see the Princess, aren't we?"

The knights stared at us dubiously.

"I-I assure you, she's also part of the house! Darkness?!" I said, looking to her for support.

"Ah, that's right!"

After some more skeptical looks, the knight sighed. "Very well. Megumin-dono and Aqua-dono, right; I'll make sure to remember these names."

I smiled. "Ah, good; I was—"

"I'll make sure to remember these names; after all, impersonation of a noble is a very serious crime. If I'm honest, if it weren't for Lady Dustiness' presence, I would feel remiss to let you two through."

"…"

After passing through the gate inspection, palace door inspection, wing and hall inspections, we were finally on our way to Iris' room.

"Suddenly I feel exhausted; it's almost as if I used Explosion already," I said with a huff.

Darkness chuckled. "I **did** tell you there'd be an increase in security."

"I totally expected something closer to the day, but not this early."

"Umu, security hasn't always been this tight, but it's to be expected after the assassination attempt."

"_Ah, that's right."_ With so many things happening, the event had slipped my mind.

"Here we are."

Standing at the door were two more knights.

I quickly sighed. "Excuse me, we're here to see Princess Iris; we're her friends."

"Umu, yes, I remember you all." The knights gave a quick bow. "Lady Dustiness and her companions, correct?"

"Uh, well, yes. My name is Megu—"

"Lady Megumin and Lady Aqua."

Given the earlier treatment, I was sort of taken aback by her reply. "Y-Yes, that's us."

"Very well, one moment."

The knightess knocked on the door, after which a small voice responded, "Yes?"

"Hime-sama, we have Lady Dustiness and her companions here to see you; should we allow them entry?"

Almost instantly, Iris replied, "Yes, yes, of course!"

The moment we stepped into the room Iris ran over and hugged us all.

"What are you all doing here?" She asked as we took our seats.

"We came to see you, of course," I replied.

She smiled. "Everyone's been so busy with preparations that I really haven't had many visitors as of late."

"Oh? Kazuma hasn't visited then?"

"No, onii-sama hasn't come to visit." Iris looked down glumly.

Aqua, who was looking around at the decoration in the room, spoke. "Umu, I'm sure Kazuma will come visit you…given his preferences and all."

I frowned at Aqua's comment but couldn't really say anything to deny it; Iris, however, giggled.

"I would hope to see you all at the celebration; it really wouldn't be one without you all present."

"Of course," I answered.

"Anyhow, enough about me, what's been going on with you guys?"

We looked to each other, suddenly recalling the massive debt which burdened us.

"Ugh, well—"

Aqua interrupted. "Kazuma's making us pay off this stupidly large debt; is there any way you could hel—"

Darkness threw her hands over Aqua's mouth, pinning her down in the sudden embarrassment she was displaying.

"T-There's no such thing, I-Iris-sama!"

Iris giggled once more, but the look she wore after was the more regal and seemingly dangerous expression; the one I was cautious of. "Debt? And you say onii-sama is the cause of it?"

"Kazuma isn't the cause of it," I replied, taking an equally serious stance. "We were all sort of…responsible…for some of it."

She smiled, her expression softening with it. "I see. How much is the debt?"

Darkness interjected, Aqua's muffled retorts seeping through her hands. "I-Iris-sama, you needn't concern yourself; we—I have this under control, don't you wor—"

"Some 575 million eris," I answered.

Even being royalty, Iris couldn't keep a straight face upon hearing the amount. "Five…" She cleared her throat and regained her composure. "May I ask what the cause of such a large debt was?"

I sighed. "A number of things."

"I, I see. Well, with such a large sum…I could write you a letter waiving the—"

Darkness shot out of her seat. "Absolutely not, Iris-sama!"

"Lalatina?"

"This is a personal debt; one you shouldn't trouble yourself with or have the citizens of this country shoulder. Please don't go along with such frivolous suggestions."

"…" Iris stared at Darkness who held the aura of an upstanding subject, and then laughed.

"I, Iris…sama?"

"Umu, you are still the same Lalatina I've always known. As always, I take your council seriously, thank you. That being said, you all are not only personal friends of the crown and myself, but extremely important individuals to the kingdom as well; you've put your lives and well-being on the line several times for the sake of this nation, would it not be prudent for us to give something in exchange? If not the entirety of the debt, perhaps some of it?"

Darkness closed her eyes in thought; after a few seconds, she opened them and replied, "Absolutely not."

Iris smiled once more. "I'd have thought that your rigidness may have softened a bit, but it seems I was wrong." She then giggled. "Very well, how about if the money was given as a reward?"

"Reward?"

Darkness and I looked at each other.

"Would you guys just stop being dumb?!" Aqua yelled angrily. "If the Princess wants to help us with this, why not let her?!"

I continued the discussion. "Reward for what, a bounty? Kazuma wouldn't help—"

"How about if I did?" She interposed.

"Not happening," Darkness retorted. "Not only would getting you out of the castle be close to impossible, but it would involve you in something that's not your own."

Iris frowned. "These types of concerns **are** my own; it has to do with the livelihood of my friends."

"With all due respect, Iris-sama, I refuse to allow you to partake in such a dangerous scheme. Not only that, but framing it as a reward when you're involved is just spinning the truth, isn't it?"

Iris sighed. "Lalatina, you're almost as bad as Claire when it comes to such matters."

"I have a suggestion." Everyone turned their eyes on me. "How about if the reward came from a competition? If other people besides us took part of it, then you could say the reward was handed out fairly to the winner of this competition, right?"

"I can agree to this," Darkness remarked. "But only if it's a fair competition; it can't be done in favor of us."

"Darkness, would you stop being such a prude?" Aqua said with knit brows. "If you keep being like this, I'm gonna give you my share of the debt to pay off."

Suddenly, Darkness trembled. "Ahhh, doubling the amount I owe? Such an amount would be difficult to pay off using modest means."

"…" I turned to Iris. "So, how about it?"

"Since Lalatina agrees to it, I will too. I'll see about preparing the competition and let you know as soon as I can."

"Alright, seems good. Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to the real reason we came here."

"Real reason?" Everyone else said unison.

"That's right." I knelt, courteously placing my broad-rimmed hat over my chest. With an open palm, I extended my hand out to Iris. "Hime-sama, I've come to show you a good time."

At first Iris looked surprised, but after a moment she laughed, and then gave me her hand. "Is Megumin-nee playing the heroic knight that's come to save the princess from captivity?"

I smirked. "Of course not," I said, getting to my feet. "I'm playing the powerful Archmage with no equal. One such as I wouldn't allow her apprentice to be sieged during her most precious time. Come, Iris, I'm getting you out of here."

"Megumin!" Darkness interjected.

"Darkness, don't interfere; Iris won't have this opportunity for some time."

"Ugh, this is reckless; why do you and Kazuma always have to do such foolish things with Iris-sama?!"

"Please, Lalatina; won't you help me?"

"I, Iris-sama." She sighed. "…I…guess it'll be ok—"

"Thank you, Lalatina!" Iris said, quickly hugging Darkness in the process.

"O-Only for a little while though!"

Iris nodded happily, although I felt she was merely doing it to curry favor. "How are we supposed to get past the guards though; even if it's you, Lalatina, I don't believe I'll be allowed to leave."

"All the better!" I said proudly. "It would be boring if everything was too simple. Darkness, I'll leave the fine details to you, Aqua, you entertain the guards in the meantime. Me and Iris will head out through the balcony."

"Balcony?" Iris and Darkness said simultaneously.

After exchanging looks, Iris stared at me with a vibrant red face.

I smirked. "That's right, the balcony; I'm sure leaving in such a manner would be a first for you, wouldn't it?"

Iris remained silent, her ears joining the growing flushness of her face.

"Megumin, that's dangerous, I can't allow—"

"Lalatina, it-it's fine; I-I've"—She took a deep breath and spoke calmly—"…I've gotten down from high places before."

Darkness placed a hand over her face and shook her head. "…alright."

Tying a line of blankets and sheets together, we managed to create a rope.

"You ready?" I said, looking to Iris.

She nodded, and then approached the rope. Pulling it taut, Iris climbed over the railing and slid down. I turned around and gave Darkness and Aqua a nod, then vaulted over banister and down the line.

"Megumin-nee slid down the rope like a natural; perhaps this isn't your first time?"

I quickly pulled her over to the small wall nearby. "No, it isn't my first time."

"Hmm, I see."

"And you seem to be quite good at it yourself."

Iris looked away, suppressing a would-be smile from cropping up.

As I looked out for patrols, I questioned her. "Kazuma wouldn't be the one who taught you such things, would he?"

"O, Onii-sama…"

I sighed heavily, and then sat against the wall. "Iris, I know about that night; where you and Kazuma went, what he did."

Iris covered her face in embarrassment, the velvet hue from her face was only second to Yunyun's. "We-We…"

"I know he didn't really do anything to you, but you have to be a bit more careful around Kazuma."

"O-Onii-sama wouldn't do such a thing!"

I quickly covered her mouth and peeked over the wall; no one seemed to take notice. "Shhh," I said, slowly letting go. "Look, Iris, I'm just saying—"

"Onii-sama isn't like that…you of all people should know that, Megumin-nee."

"…" I looked away slightly. "…Kazuma's a pretty big coward, but he's still a guy, Iris, that's all; it's not like he hides his affection for you anyways."

Iris rubbed her finger, and then stared at me worriedly. "If you really saw everything, then you'd know…even when…there…when…when we were alone, he—"

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it; I know…I get it, but I didn't really come here to make you feel bad, ok? So, come on, let's go back to Axel and hang out with our friends."

She smiled meekly, and then nodded in the same measure.

I handed her my cloak and hat. "Here, use these to conceal your identity, otherwise we'll have a hard time getting through the Teleport Station."

After evading the patrols and the cordon, we made it into the bustle of the city where we stopped at a nearby clothing store.

"Why are we here; does Megumin-nee want to buy some clothes?"

"No, well, not for me. My cloak and hat won't be enough to completely cover for you; your features stand out too much. Here, take my eye patch; I'll need it back, however; if I go too long without it my immeasurable power will burst forth causing a nationwide calamity."

Iris nodded seriously and gingerly took it in her hands.

After we entered the shop, I scouted through the racks and shelves. "Alice," I said, waving her over. "Wear this." I gave her a cowl which also concealed the bottom half of her face.

A few minutes later, Iris returned from the changing rooms. Together with my cloak, hat, and eye patch, it became very difficult to identify her; in fact, at this point she looked more like an eccentric rogue rather than the frontline fighter her alias Alice was regarded as.

"Hmm." I smiled proudly. "You look cool, Alice, totally fit to be my underling; perhaps I should get you something similar to this later on."

"Really?" Iris took a glance at her attire and smiled. "Oh, Megumin-nee, don't worry about the payment; I got it."

"Ahh, right. It-it's ok, I have a coupon I can—"

But Iris was already paying.

"Th-Thank you…"

I couldn't see her expression, but I could tell, underneath she was smiling.

After trudging through the crowded streets, me and Iris arrived at the Teleport Station. Groups of people stepped out of the shop with swathes of others waiting outside.

"Excuse me," I said, walking up to one of the idle groups. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Hmm? Ah, we're waiting for our turn; apparently, so many are coming for the Princess' birthday celebration that there's a queue of people just waiting to get in and out of the capital."

Suddenly one of the shop attendants stepped out. "Excuse me! Attention! Everyone, due to the increase in traffic, teleporting services will be delayed. Additionally, prices for long range teleportation are being incremented."

Unsurprisingly, the crowd of people began protesting, almost to the point of violence. Just as Iris was about to step in, a contingent of guards came.

"Sh-great," I said, stepping away from the immediate area.

"Doesn't look like we can use the Teleport Station, Megumin-nee; what now?"

I racked my brain for an answer. If we had someone who could use Teleport with us it wouldn't be much of an issue and traveling by wagon was out of the question, it would take several days.

"Dammit," I mumbled; was there really no one around who could use Teleport?

"Megumin?"

I quickly turned around. "Yunyun? Yunyun, your timing was impeccable; have you been observing for the right moment to intervene? I see your Crimson De—"

"No, Vanir-san told me that you were waiting for me here."

"Uh, Vanir did?"

"Umu."

"Hmm, I see. _Perhaps I should buy something from the shop as a means of repayment_." I smiled, proudly placing my hands on my hips. "That's right, Yunyun, I require your assistance. You see, me and my newfound friend here have been trying to—"

"Alice-chan?"

"Alice? No, no, this isn't Alice, this is uh, um, Rori-chan; she's a…rogue? A rogue, that's right. A rogue. You see, because of her appear—"

"Megumin, you can stop; I'm pretty sure I know who that is, I can tell."

"*Sigh* alright, you got me."

"What's going on here; are you trying to smuggle her out of the capital again?!"

"Shhh, you're being loud and obnoxious as always. I want Iris to have a good time with us before the celebration keeps her stuck inside."

"This is reckless, Megumin."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it already. She's your friend, you know. We all are, and friends help each other, so help us out here."

"Friends?" Yunyun smiled coyly, pressing her fingers together in the same manner. "I-I mean, just because you say we're friends—"

Iris stepped in. "Please, Yunyun-chan, won't you help?"

"…ahhh…fine," She said in a tone reminiscent to when she loses to me.

With Yunyun's help, we made it back to Axel.

"Now that we're in Axel, what do you want to do, Megumin-nee?"

"Hehe, that's my underling, always respectful of her senior; I say we go out and do a hard quest."

Yunyun swiftly interjected. "I object! And why do you have say in this; wasn't the whole point in trying to bring Alice back to Axel for her to have some fun?!"

"Fufufu, of course, Yunyun. Hey, Alice, I'm sure you haven't been out on quest in quite some time, don't you want to go take on a powerful monster?"

She smiled. "Well, it has been a while."

"Alice-chan, please don't let her trick you!"

**Part 2**

Counter to my suggestion, Yunyun led us back to Wiz's magic shop.

The instant we stepped in the devil of the shop greeted us. "Ah, thou has returned, and with the embarrassing Crimson Demon girl thee calls a friend."

"Hachibei!" Iris said happily; she quickly ran over and gave the Duke of Hell a hug.

"Ah, if it isn't the chirimen's daughter; how has thee fared?"

"Wait," I said in interruption, "you two know each other?"

Iris nodded with a beaming smile. "Hachibei and I met a while back; he's helped me through some troubling situations."

I raised a brow, my sight shifting between the both of them, then the devil before us sneered.

"Is the silly girl whose lack of redeeming factors thinking that moi is a danger to thy friend?"

"L-Lack of?!" I could feel my eyebrows twitch in anger. Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself.

"And why has thou decided to not come to work today? Such bad decisions are why the cowardly brat consistently sees thee as the child thee is."

I felt myself grow flush, both in anger and embarrassment.

"Mwahahahaha!" Vanir laughed haughtily. "Hmm, not as refined as moi likes, but not bad either."

"Yunyun-san." A black-haired, green-eyed girl came from the back of the shop; it was Gren. "You're back."

"Gren-san," Yunyun replied with a nod.

Vanir turned to face her, his face sporting a more serious look. "Girl, is the foolish shop owner working as planned?"

Gren bowed her head; it was something between submissiveness and courtesy. To be honest, I didn't know how to feel upon seeing such display; was she happy working under Vanir or was she simply doing it because she felt she had no choice? Even with the time I spent working here I was unsure.

"Hmm, perhaps we'll be able to afford some luxuries this month then." The Duke rubbed his smooth chin.

"Hime-sama, is that you?" Gren queried, looking to Iris as she did.

Iris gave a brief nod, a short smile accompanying her reply. "Are you well, Gren-san?"

Gren bowed deeply; this one was a clear display of submission—no, subservience. I could tell what Gren felt towards Iris was nothing short of complete gratitude…and perhaps regret.

"I am well, Hime-sama; congratulations on your upcoming birthday."

"Alice, you can call me Alice."

"Right, forgive me; I'm a fool for not noticing sooner."

Iris shook her head. "Please don't be so hard on yourself, Gren-san. Anyhow, since I'm Alice, it's fine to drop formalities; we're all friends here."

Gren looked down despondently. "Friends…with all due respect, Hime…Alice…sama…I don't believe I have the right—"

"You do; you may have made mistakes, but it's clear you're doing your best to rectify them. You saved the Princess; she won't forget that." Upon saying this, Iris smiled. "What would you be to her if not a friend?"

Gren stared at her in surprise, and then looked down once more, her lips quivering and eyes glossing over. "Thank…thank you."

"Alice," I said, "we came here to do something fun; I'm sure you don't wanna hang around here all day."

"Hmm, I wouldn't mind, really; it makes me happy to see Hachibei once more, but I feel it'd be a bit selfish of me if I simply indulged in my own wishes versus everyone else's."

I pursed my lips in indifference. "If it's what you wanna do then I'm not entirely against it."

"Hmm." Vanir, who was rubbing chin spoke. "Moi may have a task worthwhile to everyone present; care to listen?"

All of us looked at each other, then I looked back at Vanir and shrugged. "Go ahead, no harm in listening."

He smirked, and then went on. "There's been something that has been a thorn in moi's side for quite some time; you see, moi has been planning to take care of it, however, the bumbling store owner has cursed me to remain within the shop; her astonishing habits for bad spending exceed even **my** expectations." As he said this, the smile he was wearing just mere moments ago faded into a frown. Giving a light cough, he continued. "About an hour's walk or two from town there's some ruins. Moi needs thee all to find the magical item within and bring it back."

"Ruin?" Yunyun queried. "I thought all the sites around Axel were already cleared."

This girl, always focusing on the smaller picture. "Yunyun, this is an opportunity!" I said with a smirk. "Not only do we get first dibs on some unknown ruins, but this ruin also contains a magic item within."

"Uhh…Vanir-san?"

The devil, who was staring at us quietly, grinned. "Worry not, moi won't send thee all to your deaths; the threats in this location should prove to be of little worry to a group like yourselves."

"There you have it," I said reassuringly. "Let's go."

Yunyun sighed. "I wish Megumin would be more cautious about uncertainties."

"Uncertainty comes with the job, Yunyun; we're adventurers, things like this are par for the course. Plus, doesn't it make your blood boil a bit? This is a real adventure we get to go on and one with a tangible reward at the end too."

The odd girl, Yunyun paused as she gave it some thought, then smiled. "Umu, you're right, Megumin. I am kind of excited."

After saying goodbye to Vanir and Gren, me, Yunyun, and Iris headed to the location marked on our maps.

We were nearly an hour away from town when Yunyun spoke once more. "Umm, Megumin, I'm starting to have some second thoughts."

"Geez, Yunyun, I didn't think you would be this much of a coward; are you not embarrassed? You're supposed to be the future leader of our clan you know."

"T-That's not important at the moment!"

Iris, who was taking in the sights, suddenly spoke up. "Don't worry, Yunyun-san, I'll protect you and Megumin-nee."

"See?" I said. "There you have it, Iris will take care of us."

"No, no, why are you ok with that?!" Yunyun retorted angrily; really, I didn't understand what was going through this girl's brain sometimes. "If anything, **we're** supposed to be protecting **her**!"

"Pfft, stop saying nonsensical things; Iris is our vanguard, it's the job of her role to provide us with protection while we support. Or are you saying that Iris is incapable of fulfilling such a role; maybe you'd like to instead?"

Yunyun bit her lip as she accepted her defeat at the hands of my masterful reply. Seeing that she no longer had any intent to argue, I turned my attention to the underling walking by my side.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked her; after her reply to Yunyun, she seemed to go back to looking at the setting around us.

Iris nodded. "It's been quite some time since we've gone out together; I can't really remember all the stuff I've seen since then."

"Oh, but didn't you go out during the attack on the Demon King's Castle?"

She nodded; her attention still mostly fixed on the surrounding area. "That was a little different; while I did get to see some new stuff, because of the situation I didn't really get to enjoy any of it."

"I see." It made sense.

We continued to walk towards the marked location. All the while, I was schooling my eager student about the various things necessary to surviving in such harsh wilderness; wildlife, those edible and not; bedding and the flora for appropriate levels of comfort, and of course, cooking. In my previous attempts to teach Iris, there were many distractions, now, however, there were none…or mostly none.

"Why are you teaching Alice-chan such odd things?" Yunyun said, pestering me the entire time. "When is she going to even need to apply any of this knowledge?"

I shook my head. "Iris is part of our club—I mean group; this means she'll inevitably encounter some situations where this knowledge is not only useful but life-saving."

"The fact that you're planning to put Alice-chan through situations like that has me concerned to say the least; are you forgetting she's the Princess of this country?!"

I ignored the wailing coward trailing behind us and continued to spread my worldly knowledge to my willing apprentice. After what seemed like another hour, we arrived at the site of the ruins.

"Look," Iris said, pointing at the structure in the distance, "that must be it."

"Umu." I nodded. As we approached, my enthusiasm began to wane. "This is…"

"A dungeon!" Iris said excitedly. "I've never been to one!"

Indeed, it was a dungeon; or rather, it was more accurate to say the surrounding area was ruins but the centerpiece of the location was this dungeon.

"Guh." I scoffed dejectedly; I would be useless in such an environment.

"Megumin-nee, what are you waiting for, let's head inside."

"Ahh, wait, maybe the magic item is somewhere outside; there might not be any reason to—"

However, Iris happily descended into the depths.

Yunyun walked over to me. "Megumin's pretty upset about not being able to use her magic, isn't she?"

I pulled the rim of my hat low and grumbled.

Setting aside my worth in this situation, me and Yunyun caught up to the ever-eager princess. Since the dungeon was underground, it was dark. Fortunately for us, Yunyun learned Tinder some time ago and was able to provide us with a light source.

"What is this place?" Yunyun said as we walked through the vacant and dusty halls.

The dungeon appeared to be part of the structure above and many of the rooms seemed to be sleeping quarters of some sort.

"Maybe it's part of some lost city or something," I remarked. "Would you know, Iris?"

"Hmm?" She looked away from the wall murals and designs, and looked to me curiously, a finger on her chin. "This doesn't really appear to be anything I know of; these symbols are really odd."

As she said this, I walked over to the wall. "Light, Yunyun," I said, gesturing at the same time. "This symbol…"

Even as a Crimson Demon the symbols on the wall would've been gibberish to me, however…

"I know this."

"Huh?" Both Iris and Yunyun said.

"You can read this?!" Yunyun exclaimed in astonishment.

"Why are you surprised, Yunyun? Both of you. I am the foremost genius of our clan; this should come as no shock."

The symbols in question was part of Kazuma's home language, Japanese.

"Oh, that's amazing, Boss! What does it say?"

I smirked at my underling's honest praise, and then strained my eyes under the dim lighting. Several minutes went by as I continued to stare at the wall and symbols, all the while, the other two were silently waiting on my reply.

"Umm, Megumin?"

"Shhh, I'm concentrating, Yunyun."

The truth was…while I knew this was Japanese, they were a string of kanji I didn't learn.

Sensing that the two would catch onto this fact, I quickly and confidently said, "It says the magic item is in this direction." Before we left, I took out a small piece of parchment and pencil I had in the pouch on my belt and wrote down the symbols (機械製造).

We continued our trek through the halls. Although, Vanir said we would face resistance we haven't met any the entire time; silent and dusty corridors were all that we found. Even the once overly fascinated Iris was beginning to show boredom at the lack of events.

"Megumin-nee, is this what all dungeons are like?"

"Yes, Iris," I said without hesitation. "Dungeons are boring places. Should we find ourselves having to do another in the future please disregard them; we should only take quests that are in wide open places."

Yunyun frowned, and then happily added her own comment on dungeons. "Alice-chan, dungeons **are** dangerous, but they're pretty exciting; you can find lots of treasure and mysteries within them."

"Really?" Iris replied in curiosity. "This one seems to be lacking in treasure then." She sighed. "How I would've liked to fight a powerful creature."

I shrugged. "Let's just find this magic item and get out of here."

I didn't now how much time passed but eventually we grew both hungry and tired. As much as I disliked going through dungeons, I didn't want to return empty handed so, I made a suggestion.

"Let's pick one of these rooms and sleep here."

"Sleep in a dungeon?" Yunyun questioned my proposal.

Iris' enthusiasm returned upon hearing my proposition. "Oh, not only is it my first time going into a dungeon, but it's my first time sleeping in one too; what a great day."

"Umu," I replied, agreeing with a nod. "Normally we would take turns sleeping while someone takes watch, but seeing as we haven't encountered anything troublesome, I believe it'd be ok if we all slept at the same time."

Yunyun didn't say anything, but I knew she wanted to.

"What is it, Yunyun, spit it out."

"I-I didn't say anything."

"But I know you want to, so go on, say it."

Scrunching her face in mild frustration, Yunyun replied, "I think it's dangerous if we all sleep at the same time; if we're all sleeping what would happen if we're suddenly attacked?"

"Indeed, Yunyun, under normal circumstances I would agree with you; however, nothing has until this point. If we all sleep now, we'll be battle ready once we wake. Given that our group is small, having one or two members be weary would be more dangerous in the long term."

Yunyun stared at me with a face that seemed to doubt my line of reasoning.

Iris spoke. "Don't worry, Yunyun-san, should anything happen I'll get up immediately and defend you."

"See, that's how it is, Yunyun. Now let's use this room over here."

The room I picked was one we previously cleared. It had bunk beds and small end tables to sides of them, chests at the foot of them.

"Look, it's a lantern." I held it up for Yunyun to see; she promptly flicked the small source of light in her palm into it.

As I walked over to one of the beds, Yunyun called out to me.

"Megumin, make sure you check how sturdy these beds are; we have no idea how long they've been here."

Going by the state of the ruins outside, this place had to be quite old; as such, it made sense to go with Yunyun's warning. I grabbed the supports on the side of the bed and gave it a quick tug. The bed made a loud creaking noise, but surprisingly, it held firm.

"Seems ok," I said.

I took the sheets off the bed and gave it good wave in the air; a cloud of dust quickly developed causing us to cough. After settling down, I took the pillow and whacked it upon the surface of the mattress. Again, dust was kicked up, but this time we held our breaths until it passed.

"Me and Yunyun will take the bottom bunk; Iris, you should take the top."

Yunyun looked at me with a raised brow. "Megumin's not taking the top; I was sure you would."

"What does it matter?" I replied. "Arguing about such trivial things is childish."

She smiled. "I agree, plus, Alice-chan is the lightest out of us three, so it'll probably safer if she slept on top."

I knit my brow. "What are you saying, Yunyun; are you saying I'm in the same category as you?"

"I-I'm not saying anything; it's just Alice-chan is the smallest, so it should stand to reason that she's also the lightest." This girl said in a hurried manner.

"Humph, for starters, those things on your chest make up at least 50% of your weight so…"

Yunyun quickly threw her arms over them. Sighing deeply, I walked over to bed and settled my staff against the wall. Iris was already on the top bunk clearing out the excess dust.

"Alright, let's go to sleep."

Some time later I awoke to Yunyun rocking me incessantly.

"What is it?" I said halfway between weariness and anger.

"I can't sleep," She whispered.

Did this girl really wake me up for such a reason?

"What's the issue?"

"…I feel…unsafe."

I felt my brow twitch. "We're in a dungeon; of course you'd feel that way."

Yunyun fidgeted lightly. "…I feel a little…"

"A little?"

"…can you close the door; looking out into the hall is making me uneasy."

I huffed loudly as I got up. Turning up the flame on the lantern, I walked over to the entrance of the room and shut the door.

"Is that better?" I said, laying back down.

Yunyun nodded quietly.

"Good, now go to sleep." I turned down the intensity of the light, and then shut my eyes once more.

It wasn't even a few minutes before Yunyun rocked me awake once again.

"What?" I said in a loud whisper.

"I've been thinking…"

"Yeah?"

"There are all these rooms, right?"

"Yeah?"

"But we haven't seen any signs of this place ever being lived in besides these beds. I mean…if people…or anything lived here…wouldn't there be signs?"

Listening to what Yunyun said quickly alleviated my sleepiness and replaced it with mild amounts of fear. I coughed lightly, pressing my back closer to Yunyun's. "It-It's probably been a really long time so—"

"But if that's the case wouldn't the beds and furniture all be unusable? I mean…remains take a really long—"

I nudged her sharply. "Enough, just go to sleep, ok; stop thinking about things like that."

Despite telling Yunyun to fall asleep, I found myself in the shape. Closing my eyes and pulling my mantle tightly over myself, I forced myself asleep.

Naturally, this didn't last long as I woken up by Yunyun yet again.

Furrowing my brow, I turned sharply. "What is—"

Yunyun threw her hands over my mouth and pointed quietly to the corner of the room. Near the door were a pair of icy blue dots floating; they looked like a set of eyes.

"What is that?" I whispered, quickly grabbing onto Yunyun.

"I-I don't know," She whispered back.

As we stared at the anomaly, it stared back, without moving, without making a sound.

"D-Darkness b-blacker than black and d-darker than dark—"

"What are you doing? Stop, you can't use Explosion in here." Yunyun quickly covered my mouth once more.

As I struggled to break free, the floating blue orbs turned away, opened the door and disappeared into the hall.

For a couple of minutes, we lay in silence, watching the door and the pitch-black hallway it exited out to.

"What was that?" I queried.

Yunyun shook her head. "I…I don't know…you think…maybe…it could've been, an undead?"

I felt her tighten her grasp on me; I instinctually did the same. If it **was** an undead, we'd be in some trouble, we didn't have an anti-undead specialist with us like Aqua. Sure, we'd be able to hurt it with magic but undead were naturally resistant to most forms of it…still, it was only one.

"Should we leave?" Yunyun posed the question; admittedly, I wanted to but…

I looked up towards the second bunk, then cleared my throat and calmed myself. I told Yunyun, "No. We need to find what we came for; I won't return to town a coward and with nothing to show for it. We're Crimson Demons, Yunyun; we don't yield to the forces of darkness."

She stared dubiously, and then smiled, showing an excited expression. "Y-You're right, Megumin!"

"T-That being said, ahem, I think you should take the lead, Yunyun."

"Wha?!"

"That's right, this will be a good opportunity to learn a bit of leadership and breed some self confidence in yourself."

"M-Megumin's just saying that because she's too scared to take point!"

"Hey, I-I'm not scared, I just, just, I ju—I can't use magic so if we encounter something, I won't really be able to do anything to it!"

Again, Yunyun looked at me skeptical eyes, then she sighed. "I suppose that's true."

I nodded. "Right, so, you'll take point while Iris will watch our rear."

Iris had her sword she used for adventuring; even though it wasn't the divine artifact that was passed down in her family, it was still an exceptional weapon. Even to someone like me, one who lacked knowledge on weapons forging, I could tell it was enchanted due to the traces of magic it exuded. Thanks to this, should we have encountered undead or ghost-like monsters, both of them would be able to do something about it.

Shortly after coming up with the plan, me and Yunyun woke Iris. Interestingly enough, this princess, who was used to clean and overly comfortable places to sleep in, slept without a care in the world. When I went to wake her, she was smiling with a bit of drool.

"Megumin-nee?" She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing." I smiled confidently. "It's time to continue is all."

"Ah, ok." Iris yawned once more, stretched, and then climbed down.

We were about to go on our way when I heard a loud and strange sound.

"What was that?!" I yelped, turning my staff every which way. I looked at Yunyun and noticed she was covering her belly, an extremely embarrassed look on her face.

"S-Sorry," She mumbled.

"_Oh, I see._ Yunyun's hungry it seems, not that I'm surprised. A girl with—"

Another loud noise, similar to first one, grumbled out; it came from my own gut.

"…"

"…"

"…"

We postponed our continued exploration of the dungeon and lit the fireplace within the room. If undead, or any monster for that matter, were indeed roaming this dungeon, they'd be attracted to the light and heat of the fireplace; because of this, we closed the door and barred it with several of the end tables. Iris was confused by what we were doing so I explained to her the dangers of light and heat within a dungeon.

Soon after this, we sat by the fire and took out what small portions of food we brought; it wasn't much of course, we didn't expect this task to take very long and so we hadn't equipped ourselves for a long, drawn out quest.

I opened the palm of my hand; in it were a few berries I had foraged during my teaching session with Iris. Next, Iris dug into a small pouch on her belt and withdrew a few pieces of candy. Yunyun was last, she smiled as she held out her portion of food.

My eyes narrowed on the item in question, and then on the poor soul who found these things edible. "Seriously, Yunyun, do you bring these with you everywhere you go?"

She frowned. "There's nothing wrong with Demon Wafers; they're the perfect food for mages on quests."

As I looked at her with a half incredulous and frustrated expression, Iris had grabbed one of the bars curiously.

"What are these?" She asked curiously. "You said Demon Wafers, right; are they good?"

"No."

"Yes."

Me and Yunyun said in confliction. We stared angrily at each other.

"They're terrible," I went on.

Yunyun interrupted, giving her own take on the item. "People seem to have a problem with them, but they're a staple food choice of the Crimson Demons."

This was actually true; Demon Wafers were a staple food choice of Crimson Demons, but not because of their nutritional or even practical value. In fact, the reason they tasted so bad when they didn't have to was because it was meant to be eaten as a last resort. You see, Crimson Demons firmly believed it to be the sort of food to be taken when they were on their last legs, facing a powerful enemy, with a firm belief in the words "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".

Before I could stop her, Iris took a bite. The first couple of chews were accompanied by an inquisitive look, but after chewing for a couple seconds more, her face began to scrunch together in disgust. With a lot of effort, she swallowed the chewy mush in her mouth.

Yunyun stared happily at Iris; I'm sure she was waiting for her opinion on the item, and indeed she asked, "What do you think?"

Iris gave her a weak smile, and then stared at the half-eaten bar, then at me, then back at Yunyun. "It, It's—"

I snatched the wafer from her hand, and along with my own, ate it.

"Megumin!" Yunyun shouted angrily.

I doubled over, gasping for air, thinking, _"Stupid food, why did it have to be so bad…"_

"M-Megumin-nee, are you alright?" Iris asked with a mix of worry and apprehension; this girl understood my pain.

I showed her a thumbs-up but could feel the beads of salty tears dotting the corner of my eyes. "I, I was hungry," I replied hoarsely; the moisture from within my mouth was gone with the clumpy mess that descended into my stomach.

"M-Megumin-nee, here you go, you could have my candies," Iris said panickily.

I wanted to show a strong front, but I took the candies she offered without a second thought.

"Alice-chan!" Yunyun showed an angry expression. "You don't need to give Megumin your share of food, she took yours! Here, you can have my share."

"No, no, it's alright," Iris said hurriedly. "After all, you and Megumin-nee are the ones who were most hungry. I'm fine, I could go on a bit longer."

"Are you sure?" Yunyun said with a sad and regretful look.

Iris nodded vehemently.

"H, Here, Yunyun"—I showed her my sum of berries—"you can have my share."

She stared at me for a couple seconds, and then tentatively took them. "Ah…thank you, Megumin."

Foolishly, we didn't even bring water; however, Iris brought juice and Yunyun used ice magic to create some. After taking my fill of the icy water and sitting by the warmth of the fire, I began to feel better.

"Megumin-nee, would you like some?" Iris offered me some of her juice.

I was about to accept her offering when I remembered this poor girl had suffered too. "No," I replied, my palm pressing against the cup. "Thanks, but you also need to be well hydrated, Iris."

She withdrew the cup, staring at it, and then me with mild remorse. "Ok," She said, taking a sip from it.

**Part 3**

Finishing our pitiful meals, we removed the furniture blocking the doorway and (with Yunyun leading) tentatively stepped into the dark halls of the dungeon once more. We continued moving through the extensive and long corridors; our pace, however, was half of what it was mere hours ago, no doubt due to my and Yunyun's earlier experience.

"Yunyun," I said, "you feel that?"

She nodded. "There's a feeling of strong magic in this direction."

Down the hall from us, a faint blue light shown around the corners; it was similar to the light given off by magical lanterns and indeed, as we stepped cautiously around the corner, the dungeon's halls were illuminated; an eccentric design of concentric squares hugged the top of the walls, and these were the things giving off illumination.

I examined the wall. "Interesting…this all seems to be laced with manatite."

But manatite by itself didn't give off a glow; it had to be influenced by some other source for it to do so.

"No wonder we felt such a strong magic presence," Yunyun remarked.

Iris spoke. "Do you believe it was due to this?"

As Yunyun replied to Iris, I scrunched my brow in doubt. "No," I remarked, seemingly contradicting Yunyun's own thought.

"You think it's something else, Megumin?" She questioned.

"Vanir said 'magic item'; it wouldn't be something like this." And though I said this, in the back of my mind I held a grain of cynicism; after all, we were told by a devil whose idea of a good time was wasting other's and luring them with a false sense of promise.

For some reason, I felt that there was actually something deeper within this dungeon. Not only was the application of manatite odd but the symbols in this place indicated it was occupied (at least for some time) by someone from Kazuma's world. That being the case, the magic item in question could be—

"Megumin-nee," Iris said.

When I looked over, I saw her taking a combat stance, her sword already drawn. As I looked down the hall, I could see why.

Despite the lighting, all we could see was the piercing blue dots me and Yunyun saw earlier.

Yunyun quickly took a stance beside Iris. "What should we do, Megumin?" She asked, awaiting my decision.

With the two shielding me, I felt somewhat calm; because of this, I took some time to stare at the entity down the corridor.

"Who or what are you?!" I yelled; my voice echoed clearly down the way.

Then, the orbs turned away once more, disappearing into the darkness once again.

We waited, rooted to the spot. After a few minutes of silence and nothing happening, we relaxed.

Iris sheathed her sword and turned to me. "What was that, a monster?"

This girl, for facing the unknown she was oddly calm; as expected from someone who belonged to a line of warriors.

"I don't know," I answered, "but whatever it is, I'm not letting it scare us off; let's continue."

Iris and Yunyun nodded in agreement.

As we continued our exploration through the dungeon's halls much of the same awaited us; dim blue lights from the walls and empty rooms.

"This place is vast," Yunyun commented.

It was, but thankfully, not complex. Finally, after having spent several hours within this place, we came to the end; a final room marked with a plaque, on it, more Japanese.

Staring at the symbols, I made out the words, "Master" and "Room".

"Master's room?" I said with a tinge of uncertainty.

Yunyun and Iris stared at each other in mild surprise. "Master's room?" Iris repeated in confusion.

"Hey, Megumin, are you sure you're not making what it is says up?"

I frowned. "Of course I'm not; I'm telling you, I can read this. In any case, these symbols should look somewhat familiar to you, Yunyun."

After I stated this, Yunyun took a closer look at the symbols; a moment later, her mouth opened in realization. "These…these symbols are the same; they're the same as the ones in—"

"That's right, the Crimson Village."

"So, this place," she said, looking around, "it's part of that mysterious civilization that built the oddities in the village?"

"Oddities?" I questioned this girl's lack of sense. "Yunyun, you dare to call the treasures of our village, odd; aren't you gonna be the chief of it one day?"

I didn't see her face but heard her sigh softly.

"Should we go in?" Iris queried.

"Of course." I grabbed the doorknob. "Get ready you two, we don't know what's behind this door."

With a serious look on their faces, they nodded, taking a defensive posture at the same time.

I slowly twisted the knob; the door gave a click sound as the latch holding it released. Letting go, I stepped back and watched as the wooden door creaked open.

In preparation, Yunyun cast Fireball; this doubled as a source of light, a good one at that.

Despite my innate vulnerability, I walked into the room first; the other two quickly followed me in.

"A study?" I said as I looked around; countless rows of shelves and books surrounded the room.

"M-Megumin, look," Yunyun said, tugging on my cloak.

I turned in the direction she was pointing. On the opposite side of the room was a desk; behind it, a figure hunched over it.

"A person?" I said in surprise.

Iris was about to walk over, when I grabbed her shoulder; she looked at me in perplexity.

I shook my head in reply, and then stared at the hunched figure. "Oi!" I yelled, trying to get the figure's attention. It, however, remained in the same position, seemingly unaffected by my attempt at getting its notice.

"Hey," I continued, "if this is your place, pardon our intrusion." And in spite of me addressing the mysterious figure, it didn't reply.

I was beginning to grow agitated. "Hey!" I said once again, this time more forcefully.

But yet again, the figure said nothing; its posture remaining as we discovered it.

"Hey!" I shouted, marching up to the figure and pulling back on its shoulder.

A hollow echo sounded briefly as an object hit the ground.

"AHHHHH!" We all yelled.

The object in question was a skull; that's right, the figure was a person, or rather, a skeleton. A poor soul who was now long since dead.

Noticing this to be the case, I took a deep breath and collected myself. "What's this?" I said, grabbing an open book the skeleton was lying on.

As I scanned the contents, I could see it was written completely in Japanese. I took a glance at the skeleton on the chair; without a doubt, this must've been someone from Kazuma's world. After attempting to understand what was written, I knit my brows in frustration; there was still so much I didn't understand about Japanese. I closed the book and thought, "_I'll take it back and have Kazuma help me in translating it"_; that thought, however, was short lived as another, more enticing one replaced it.

"_No, I can try and translate it myself; not only will this be a good opportunity to challenge myself, but if I manage to do it, I can show Kazuma; he'll definitely be impressed."_

I smirked at the idea as I tucked the book under my arm.

"Is this it?" Iris said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Just as I was about to answer, the bookshelf in front of Yunyun shifted to the side.

"A hidden room behind the bookshelf?" Iris queried.

"Impressive. Good work finding this, Yunyun." I smirked, walking over to her side. "Must've been a book you pulled from the shelf."

"Ah, ah, um, yeah." She quickly hid the book behind her.

Seeing this reaction, I couldn't just let it be. "Out of curiosity, Yunyun, what was—"

"N-Nothing!" She replied, her face turning bright red.

"Ah, ok—wait, what's that?!" I said, abruptly pointing towards the room.

Both Iris and Yunyun looked, and in this moment of deception, I grabbed the book.

"Wha—Megumin, no!"

However, it was too late; I already glanced at the cover. "Friends and How to Make Them: An Introvert's Guide to Relationships…"

"…"

"…"

"I'm…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried such a treasure from you; here, you can have it back."

Yunyun quickly snatched book away and shoved it back into the empty slot.

Desperate to forget the moment of embarrassment, Yunyun marched ahead of us and into the hidden room, the glow of her Fireball lighting up the otherwise pitch-black surroundings.

"What, what is this place?" I said as we stepped into the massive room.

A moment later, the darkness was pierced by an assortment of overhead lamps. A loud echo rung throughout room as each one flashed to life one after another. A slight hum followed as the dormant fixtures settled into their new state.

As we recovered from the sudden burst of light, I could hear Yunyun say, "G, Golems?"

I stopped shielding my eyes and looked around. My mouth slowly opened in awe; the room, one as large as the entire mansion, was filled with what could only be described as golems. They were not, however, the type of golems one immediately thought of, but similar in form to the Bomber Majin Moguninnin and Aqua's Dendromaiden.

As such…I couldn't control myself.

"Ahhhhh, so cool, so cool!" I said, running towards them.

"Wait, Megumin!"

"Megumin-nee, wait!"

Yes, part of me realized what I was doing was dumb and reckless, but my Crimson Demon blood was boiling in excitement; there was nothing I could do to contain myself. After spending a few minutes by the golems without anything going wrong, Yunyun and Iris joined me.

"Ahhh, aren't they cool?" I was coming down from my high, so I felt a sense of calm as I inspected the objects of my curiosity.

Yunyun and Iris eyed them with slight misgivings.

"A lot of them seem to be unfinished," Yunyun remarked.

Iris nodded.

"Umu," I replied, raising my hand to my chin. "Do you think we can haul these out of here; maybe Kazuma will be able to get them working."

"Is Megumin dumb; of course not! Also, I'm fairly sure Kazuma-kun wouldn't approve of you bringing such things to the mansion."

What a killjoy. I'm sure Yunyun existed to be that type of person. "Yunyun, maybe this is why you're still struggling to find friends."

"AH—I-I have no issues finding friends! I have plenty of friends!"

I nodded, a look of pity in my eyes. "Don't worry, Yunyun, if anything, I'll always be your friend."

Iris nodded seriously. "That's right, Yunyun-san, me too."

Despite Iris' benign intentions, Yunyun covered her face, her shoulders shaking in humiliation.

"Hey," I said, somewhat seriously, "the magic source…it's down this way."

As I walked towards the back of the room, the two of them followed close behind. Finally breaking past the rows of golems, we saw a pedestal some distance away; it was on a raised platform separated by a small bridge and upon this pedestal was the source, a hand-sized ball emitting a faint white light.

"That must be it," I stated.

Iris and Yunyun nodded.

Suddenly, Iris whipped around, drawing her sword in the same motion. We followed.

Standing before us was a hooded figure. Even with all the light in the room its most apparent feature was its set of glowing blue eyes.

"You," I said in an almost hostile tone.

"What are you all doing here?" It replied; the sound that came out was nearly mechanical in nature. "Are you here to steal the stone?"

"Stone?" I mumbled under my breath. I looked back at the item on the pedestal.

While I was wrapped in my own thoughts, Yunyun answered. "We, we didn't come here to steal. We weren't aware that this place was inhabited."

I followed up. "That's right, we didn't come here to steal. We came here to take that magic item there as part of a quest."

"M-Megumin?!"

The figure stared silently at us after I made my declaration. "…Quest?" It finally said.

"That's right," I replied, "we're adventurers."

"Ahh, I see…adventurers."

"Seems you understand; we'll be taking our reward and leaving then."

"I'm afraid not." The robed figure took its hood off revealing a mechanical, yet humanoid creature beneath.

"A golem?!" Yunyun said in surprise.

"I need that stone," It said, paying no attention to Yunyun's observation.

I smirked. "Seem we're at an impasse."

Yunyun looked back angrily. "Megumin, would you stop instigating things?!"

I also paid no mind to Yunyun's mindless quip and continued. "It's a real shame since I think golems like you are pretty cool, but if you're gonna get in the way of us completing our quest, then we'll have to destroy you."

"No, my sleeping brethren depend on me and my success, if you wish to stop that then I have no choice but to silence fools like yourself."

"No, No," Yunyun retorted, "it's fine, we can just leave; we didn't really mean to stir up any confusion."

"Wait," I interjected. "You said, 'sleeping brethren'?"

The golem, who was took a defensive stance, answered. "That's right. All of these figures here are my brethren; I seek to awaken the power of the stone and give life to them who lie dormant."

Iris spoke. "Wait, so you want to awaken these things?"

"That's correct; together, we will storm the world to bring about the dream our father and master wished for us."

"I see," I said, interrupting. "If that's what you're aiming to do then"—I lowered the rim of my hat and smiled—"I suppose we could just leave—"

"Megumin!" Yunyun yelled, her eyes glowing. She took an offensive stance against the talking golem. "Now that you revealed your plan, I'm afraid it's our responsibility to stop you."

Iris nodded in agreement, and I…reluctantly followed suit.

"Ehhh," I said anxiously, "don't worry, once we destroy you, I'll be sure to take you to someone who could repair—"

"Shut up, Megumin!"

I stared at Yunyun with knit brows; this noisy girl.

Without warning, she and Iris attacked.

"Cursed Lightning!"

"Sacred Lightning Blare!"

In an instant, the target was obliterated along with a large swathe of the already dilapidated golems scattered throughout the room. In all honesty, I felt a twinge of pain as I saw this…so many cool mechanical golems…destroyed without mercy.

"Megumin-nee," Iris said, sheathing her blade, "you should go get the magic item."

"Ah, right." I quickly ran across the short bridge and stood before the glowing stone.

"Careful, Megumin."

Yunyun seemed to be thinking the same as me; this item…we had little idea of what it could do, if it was harmful…if a mere touch was enough to cause trouble. I took a deep breath and steeled myself; with an outstretched hand, I grabbed the item from the pedestal and held it without issue. Being careful not to trigger any flags, I wordlessly put the stone into the small pouch on my belt, and then turned towards the other two.

"Quest complete, let's head back," I said. "B-Behind you!"

"WIND BLAST!" Yunyun yelled.

The attacking golem was sent spiraling back into the pile of others but immediately got up and went to attack once more—

"LIGHT OF SABER!"

—and was cut down.

Yunyun let out a breath of relief. "Did it survive the first attack?"

"Guys!" I yelled once more.

Another golem from the pile attacked; it was eliminated, this time by Iris. "What's going on here, are they coming to life?"

Iris' query was answered by another assault. The moment the attacking golem was slain, another rose to continue the bout. After several minutes of fighting back the attacks, Yunyun and Iris were becoming tired, their panting breaths serving as a contrast to the golem's tireless assault.

"You cannot win!" It yelled a moment before it was hewn in two.

Not a second later, another shot from the pile towards us. As Yunyun and Iris continued to deal with the attacking golems, Yunyun asked, "Alice-chan, can you use that attack again?"

Iris shook her head as she sliced through the next figure who assailed them. "It uses too much mana; if I use it again, I'll get really tired."

Hearing this, I smirked. "Hehe."

Yunyun stole a glance at me. "Why is Megumin laughing?"

"Humph, seems like you two can't do anything without me. GOLEM!" I yelled. "It's a real shame that I have to do this. Remember my name, the name of the main heroine; my name is Megumin, Master of Explosion magic!" After saying this, I grabbed Yunyun's shoulder. "Yunyun, do you have enough mana to teleport us to the surface?"

Yunyun closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded.

"Take us."

As she focused for the teleport, Iris beat back the seemingly endless number of single combatants that challenged us.

"Ready!" Yunyun announced.

Iris jumped back into the magic circle, and before the charging golem could reach us, we teleported.

The next instance, we appeared above ground, some distance away from the ruins.

I slowly stepped forward and smiled. "Pay close attention, you two; this is how you finish a seemingly invincible enemy."

I flicked my mantle and thrust my staff into the air.

"In accordance with the principles of magic, I call upon the destructive aspects of fire and wind. Descend upon this mortal plane and manifest thyself as an augur of ruin. Crimson dark, crimson blood, with my crimson soul fuel thy nature and let me wield thee! Descend as a pillar of fire and let the land hear thy thunderous cry! EXPLOOOOSION!"

True to my word, a thunderous blast echoed throughout the land. The ground shook as the ruins collapsed into the dungeon below. A massive cloud of dust and fire climbed into the sky followed by a shockwave. A moment later, I felt the energy drain from my body as I collapsed with a satisfied sigh.

After my spectacular display, Yunyun carried me. Since she used a lot of mana during the fight with the golem and the Teleport after, she didn't have much to spare; as such, our original pan of using Teleport to head back to Axel wasn't possible. To make matters worse, it was already evening and descending well into the night. Luckily for us, it was a full moon, so sight wasn't much of an issue.

"Ugh." Yunyun groaned. "If Megumin already learned new magic why doesn't she use it?!"

"What a foolish question," I said from her back. "First of all, Yunyun, you should know no matter what happens I refuse to use anything other Explosion magic. Second, even if I **did** decide to use my other magic, it's only beginners. In such a situation what do you expect would happen if I did."

Yunyun replied with a disappointed sigh.

"Other magic…" Iris mumbled. "Megumin-nee has learned other magic?"

I looked back and answered, "Just a couple spells; however, I've no intention of using them outside improving my new Explosion-type magic."

"Wait, new? As in, new spells?"

I smirked proudly. "Of course. As a master of Explosion and number one Crimson Mage isn't it obvious that I'd be able to do such things? I've already made an ice-type Explosion as well as a fire-type—"

"Which caused you to destroy the forest near town," Yunyun interrupted.

I frowned and lightly bopped Yunyun with the end of my staff.

"Ow!"

"Stop saying unnecessary things, Yunyun."

As an hour passed and night came upon us, Yunyun stopped walking and put me down.

"What's wrong, Yunyun-san?" Iris asked.

Yunyun was knelt over breathing heavily. "Sorry, I'm…just…a little bit…tired."

I sighed audibly. "Guess it can't be helped; I wanted to return to town today, but it seems we'll have to camp out."

"No, no, it's fine, I just need a little—"

"Quit it, Yunyun; you're obviously tired from all the fighting and exploring we've done."

"And carrying you," She added.

I frowned but otherwise kept my peace. "This'll be a good opportunity for Iris though." I turned to look at her. "You haven't camped out under the stars before, have you, Iris?"

She shook her head. "The only time I've had something close to it was during the trip to Elroad."

I smiled as I sprawled out on the grass. My body still felt heavy after exhausting my mana earlier and I was beginning to feel an onset of drowsiness come over me.

"Megumin, are you falling asleep first?" Yunyun asked somewhat worriedly.

I nodded silently, my eyes, closed.

"Who's going to stand watch then?"

I knit my brow in response. "What do you expect me to do if we're attacked; did you forget I'm out of mana?"

"Ahh…" Realizing this, Yunyun let out a defeated murmur.

At this moment, Iris spoke. "I'll watch for monsters; don't worry, you two can fall asleep."

Ah, my underling; ever the considerate one. Then again, she was the only one to get any real rest during our time in the dungeon so perhaps she was more awake than either me or Yunyun.

"Thank you, Iris; should anything happen, please let me know."

"Hey!" Yunyun interjected. "Didn't you just tell me you wouldn't be able to do anything in case something happened? Why is Alice-chan the only one receiving such lenient treatment from you?"

"Hush, Yunyun. Go to sleep already, the sooner you do, the sooner we can be back home."

"Wait, how about Alice-chan; didn't you smuggle her out of the castle again? What are they going to say if she doesn't show up today?"

A valid question…but I was too tired to focus on such trivialities. In any case, if she didn't show up today, it would make little difference; Iris' absence would be treated mostly the same whether she was gone a couple of hours or a day.

I pulled the rim of my hat low and fell asleep.

When I awoke, it was already morning. The chirping of birds and the vibrant light of dawn cascaded over the open field. I sat up and looked around somewhat confused; didn't Iris take watch last night? My thought was immediately answered; not even a meter away was the princess in question, sleeping without a care in the world, her body wrapped tightly within my mantle. Looking over to my right, I could see Yunyun was also still fast asleep.

To think our guard fell asleep on duty, luckily, nothing bad happened. Although, on further review, we probably wouldn't have been attacked anyways; we were all really high leveled, so the local wildlife would've avoided us and only things like high-level bounties would've been a threat.

I removed my cape and draped it over Iris. Then I stood up and yawned. As I did, I stretched and looked around. I wanted to see if there was anything I could cook for breakfast, but these were open plains with sparse meadows and even sparser wildlife.

With this understanding, I sat back down and dug into my pocket; I withdrew the magic item we came for. I stared at the item in perplexity; it gave off its faint white glow and I could feel the mana coming from it, still, beyond this assessment I could decipher nothing else.

"_Perhaps the book could tell me more?"_ I thought, and dug into my robe; I kept it tucked between me and my belt. Normally this would result in the item in question falling out, but because I knew this to be a problem, I purposely tightened the belt.

I opened the book and glanced at its contents. Japanese…and lots of it…lots of it I didn't understand. I flipped the pages, browsing for symbols I could recognize. After a few minutes of this, I was no closer to figuring out what it entailed. I felt I could read the symbols, but as far as what they meant…by myself I couldn't really do it.

I let out a disappointed huff and closed the book, tucking it back into its makeshift home. I laid back down and as I was about to close my eyes, Yunyun woke up.

"Megumin?" She rubbed her eyes drowsily and yawned. After looking around in a nonchalant manner, her eyes widened, and she shot up in distress. "It's morning?! Iris—I mean, Alice-chan, did she—"

"Shhh; she's still sleeping." I pointed to the young royal, who quivered slightly from the abrupt noise.

Yunyun covered her mouth and whispered, "Oh." Calming down after taking note of the situation, Yunyun sat beside me. "Well, now that it's morning, I can teleport us back to Axel."

I nodded. "Not a bad idea; maybe we can take Iris out for some breakfast."

Yunyun gave me a stern look. "Alice-chan has been away from the capital for almost an entire day; don't you think it's time to take her back?"

"Really? Do you think so little of our comrade, our friend, Yunyun?"

Of course, appealing to this loner with the mention of friendship made her serious expression quickly shatter.

"No, no, of course not! I-I'm just worried that we'll get in a lot of trouble for doing this!"

"Humph, trouble…are you unwilling to experience a bit of discomfort for those important to you? If Yunyun was in the same situation, would she turn me away if I came to show her a good time?"

"Yes, yes I would!" She retorted. "Because Megumin is an important person to me, I would turn her away so she wouldn't get herself in trouble! Also, what do you mean 'show me a good time'? Why does Megumin have to say it in such a manner?"

While me and her bickered, Iris woke up. After she rubbed away the grogginess, Iris leapt up in a panic and began to apologize.

"No, no, it's fine, Alice-chan, don't worry," Yunyun said as she tried to calm the panicky princess.

"That's right," I said with a nod. "It wasn't a problem…this time. Next time you camp out, you should be careful not to fall asleep. As your senior, I'll forgive you though." I took my cloak from her and tossed it over my back. "Yunyun."

"?"

"Take us back."

**Part 4**

Yunyun's teleportation was set in front of the guild and that's where we appeared.

"Since we're here," I said, "let's get some food at the guild."

Yunyun frowned once more. "Didn't we already speak about—"

A loud rumbling could be heard; Iris and I stared at Yunyun, and then her stomach.

"Again?" I remarked as she quickly covered her it, Yunyun's face as crimson as her eyes.

She mumbled something but it was too low for me to hear.

I continued. "Anyhow, I'm also pretty hungry; we didn't get to eat much yesterday, so let's eat our fill before heading back to the shop."

The girl who was protesting earlier gave no reply and continued holding her stomach in embarrassment. And so, we stepped into the guild proper. Taking our seats, one of the many barmaids came over and greeted us.

"Morning," She said. "Will you be having anything?"

I nodded. "Can I have the 'Meat Lover's Special' with a baked potato."

"And to drink?"

"Wildberry juice."

She nodded as she wrote down the order, and then faced Yunyun who was sitting beside me. "And what can I get you?"

Yunyun gave me a cursory glance, and then ordered, with a low, almost silent voice. "A, A salad…will be fine."

The server, who strained herself to hear Yunyun's order, nodded. "That was a salad, right? Any type?"

Seemingly embarrassed by the difficulty she was causing, Yunyun grew an even darker shade of red. She spoke with a louder, yet, apprehensive tone of voice. "Y-Yes, a-any type is fine."

"And your drink?"

"Water!" Yunyun replied loudly, shocking the lady. "S-Sorry, water…is…fine." The amount of embarrassment she felt was too great and Yunyun spoke in a despondent manner, her eyes fixed to the table.

Our server looked away in a pitying fashion, and then gave a forced smile as she turned her attention to the last remaining member. "What, what will you be having?"

All this time Iris was staring at the menu quietly.

"I'm not…really…sure…do you serve yakisoba?"

"Yaki…soba? I'm not…"

I interrupted. "Alice-chan, yakisoba is mostly a festival thing. Why don't you try the 'house' special?"

"Ah, o, ok; I'll have that then," She replied.

"Ok," the lady said as jotted it down. "And your drink."

"Water is fine."

"Ok…I'll have it all brought down in a couple of minutes. Please enjoy your stay."

She gave a short bow, and then walked off.

After the lady walked away, I looked at Yunyun and said to her, "Really, Yunyun, why didn't you just order what you want?"

She turned to me with knit brows. "So Megumin could just make fun of me again?"

"Don't be silly, I'm not a bully; I would never make fun of you in spite. I only tell you such things because I care about your health."

She stared at me with complete doubt.

Then, Iris giggled. "I never really noticed, but Megumin-nee and Yunyun-san are really close friends, right?"

I shrugged. "Someone has to be; if I wasn't, this girl would be all alone thanks to her inability to make others."

Yunyun stared at me shock. "W-What is Megumin saying?! What's with that incredulous remark of yours!" Yunyun quickly stopped herself as she realized the rising tone of her voice; lowering it, she said, "I have other friends besides Megumin; I've already told you this."

"That so? I never heard you say it, but perhaps you did; go on, why don't you refresh my memory, list all the people who are your friends. Alice-chan can listen too; I'm sure—WHA!"

Yunyun pounced on me and began wailing in embarrassment.

"Oh? If it isn't my good friend, Yunyun."

Yunyun stopped as both she and I looked up at the person speaking; it was Axel's notorious troublemaker.

"Dust-san?"

"Yo. Was I interrupting something?"

"Uhh, no." Yunyun sat back down and stared at thing beside me with a suspicious eye.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Yes," I answered, but he sat down anyways, right next to Iris.

"And who's this beautiful lady?" He said, looking at her. "Yunyun, she an acquaintance of yours?"

Of course, since Iris was wearing her disguise this thing wouldn't recognize her as the Princess of Belzerg.

Then he cocked his slightly and said, "Wait, do I know you?"

Me and Yunyun stared with held breaths; did he see through the disguise? Even Iris began to timidly avert her eyes.

"Ah, yeah, I **do** know you." He quickly stood up and stared at her with a serious expression; an expression I've only ever seen this waste of man show but once. "You're that woman I've seen in the public baths; I'm sure of it."

"…"

"…"

"Dust-san, please get out of my sight before I decide to use advanced magic on you."

"Oh, come on now, Yunyun, aren't we—"

She began chanting the words to a spell I barely knew. "Oh, Yunyun, if you're gonna use Inferno please be mindful our surroundings; they're made of wood and will catch easily."

"In-Inferno?!" The thing yelled. "O-Ok, I'll go, I'll go!"

He hurried off and after a couple seconds, Yunyun stopped and let out a breath mixed of relief and frustration. "That man; I can't believe he would say such things."

Despite being the topic of such brash remarks, Iris sat quietly, a look of deep thought on her face.

"Alice-chan, are you ok?"

She snapped out of her brief trance and answered hastily. "Y-Yes, I'm fine."

"Sorry about him; Dust-san is rather…unreserved when it comes to…well…anything."

"Oh no, it's fine. He's an adventurer, right? Such comments are common amongst adventurers, I'm sure."

"They're not." Both me and Yunyun said matter-of-factly.

"In any case," I continued, "even if they are, most male adventurers wouldn't say that to a woman."

Iris suddenly smiled. "Woman…he, he called me a woman; I'm actually a little happy about that."

"He did, didn't he?" For a split second, I felt a bit of envy, however, I quickly shrugged it off; such things meant nothing if it came from a degenerate like him.

"Your meals, ladies." The barmaid returned with a platter full of our food and drinks; she gracefully placed it on the table before us and gave another courteous bow. "Enjoy and please let me know if there's anything else I can get you."

Happily, we tore into the food before us. Perhaps we didn't realize it, but when the food came, we ate without reservation; only Iris ate with some decorum, but even so, the usual restraint she showed whenever we went over to the palace was almost nowhere to be found. After a couple of minutes, the giant platter was empty save for bones and other inedible bits.

As we rubbed our stomachs slothfully, I spoke to Iris, telling her, "You shouldn't leave the bones."

"Hmm? I was always told bones are inedible pieces of scrap."

I shook my head in disdain, such was the education afforded to royals; they knew nothing of the so called "inedible scraps" and their secrets. I took one of the bones and bit down on it; breaking it in two, I showed it to Iris. "See this?" I said, the other piece wedged between my mouth.

Iris leaned in.

"It's bone marrow; that's the good stuff. It contains lots of nutrients. Not only that but it also contains a lot of flavor. I passed it to her.

Yunyun to my side, said nothing, merely watched; as a Crimson Demon and adventurer like myself perhaps she was aware of the things I was teaching Iris.

Iris stared at the bone in perplexity. "What do I—"

I showed her and sucked the marrow out from the one I held in my mouth. "You suck on it."

Following my instruction, she placed the broken bone in her mouth and sucked on it. After a few moments of tasting, she swallowed and smiled. "It's pretty good, Megumin-nee."

I smirked. "Of course, I wouldn't lie to you."

The moment I said this, Iris stared at me quietly, but the next instant, she smiled nervously. "Of, Of course…of course, Megumin-nee…"

My smirk slowly dissipated, and I looked away slightly. A few seconds later, I coughed loudly, and then stood up. "Well, let, let's go."

Yunyun stared at us with a mildly befuddled look on her face; I'm sure she was trying to understand what was going on between me and Iris. To avoid the unnecessary conversation that would sprout, I walked ahead briskly, the two of them trailing after me. After walking for a while, I slowed down; we were nearly at the shop.

Iris walked up beside me, timidly glancing up. "Me, Megumin-nee…"

"Hmm, what is it, Alice-chan?" I replied without really looking at her.

"…thank you."

At this response, I looked at her. "For?"

"Today, er, well, yesterday…I had a lot of fun, so…thank you." Iris looked down with gentle eyes.

I sighed deeply, and then smiled. "It's no problem; I know if I didn't get you out of there no one would."

She twiddled her fingers and coyly replied, "O, Onii-sama would."

I looked up, my smile growing even more. "Yeah, knowing him, he'd probably be the only other person to do so, huh?"

After a moment of silence both us giggled and before we knew it, we were standing in front of Wiz's shop.

"Well, here we are," I said.

"Umu." Iris nodded.

As I approached the door…

"—sure the prince—um, Alice-sama is somewhere around this town."

I immediately backed away.

"Maybe we should come back later?" I suggested with a hint of nervousness.

Yunyun looked at me in confusion, and then at the door. "Why, is there something—"

The door to the shop flew open and a woman in a white suit charged out.

"Iri—I-I mean, Alice-sama!"

Despite, Iris' disguise, Claire saw through it instantly.

"What is all this? Where have you been all this time?!"

Iris looked around timorously. "…S-Sorry."

After examining Iris for a moment, Claire stood up and looked at me; her brows furrowed a bit. "I should've known you were the one behind Prince—ahem, Alice-sama's absence."

Suddenly, Darkness and Aqua emerged from within the shop, Rain did as well.

"Please, Claire," Iris pleaded, "don't be hard on Megumin-nee; she only wanted to make me happy."

Hearing this, Claire recoiled slightly and took a deep breath. "Ugh, e-even so, Hime…ahem, Alice-sama, you had everyone worried; even your father was about dispatch the royal…ahem…the guards to help find you."

Iris lowered her head, a remorseful look on her face.

I clenched my jaw and squeezed my staff tightly. "Claire!" I yelled; she and everyone looked at me in sudden surprise. "I'll take full responsibility for this; I know I wasn't supposed to, but…I really wanted to…make…her…" My voice trailed off.

Claire stared at me with no change in her angry expression. Just as she was about to say something, Darkness interrupted.

She stepped in between us and said, "I'm at fault here! I was the one who should've done something about this but didn't; if anyone should bare the punishment, it should be me."

"D-Darkness," I said, happily surprised.

Claire shook her head in disbelief, all the while she rubbed her temples in frustration. "Lalatina…how could you—"

"Umm, excuse me!" Aqua interrupted, throwing a hand up. "I-I wasn't involved in any of this, so could I just go home?"

Claire turned her way. "Ah that's right, Aqua-dono was most helpful in narrowing down the search. As promised, I'll send a box of the capital's finest wine."

"Wait, Aqua?!" I yelled.

Did she really just sell us out for a box of wine…

As she walked past me, she leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry, I didn't tell them it was you; I only said the princess could've been somewhere outside the capital. Pretty smart, huh?" She smirked proudly.

"…"

Just as Aqua was about to walk away, the masked clerk of the magic shop said, "Ah, it's not surprising to moi the noisy blue thing would choose to abandon her comrades." He nodded with a smirk on his face. "Yes, even the dubious brat who frequents a certain shop is kindlier than a—what is it thou calls thyself?" Vanir rubbed his chin. "Ah, that's right, moi believes it was a self-proclaimed deity. Mwahaha, moi can't help but laugh at such pathetic delusions that a troublesome human priest would have."

Needless to say, Aqua froze in place at such blatant insults. She slowly turned around with an overly sweet smile adorning her face. "Ara, ara, to think that I'd be hearing such words from a mongrel like you; aren't you the supposed to be someone of note? Ah, that's right, I think I remember what you're called now, Vanir, Slayer of Crows, right?"

Both of them laughed bitterly; knowing how this was going to end up, I quickly intervened.

"Hey, Aqua, why don't you go ahead to the mansion and see if Kazuma returned?"

Aqua, who was still staring daggers at Vanir, replied with a loud humph. "Fine! No point in staying here anyways! Hey, Wiz, next time make sure you tidy up the place; it reeks something serious!" Aqua stuck out her tongue, and then left towards the mansion.

I thought Vanir was going to say something, but he stared silently as she walked off; I'm sure underneath his mask there was a vein ready to pop.

Claire coughed loudly, and all of us refocused our attention on her. "Well, I suppose the situation has been resolved…however"—She looked at me the same way a parent who was scolding a child would—"don't think you'll get off without issue, Megumin-dono."

"Actually," to my surprise, Vanir interjected, "moi is partly to blame for the turn of events."

Claire turned to him with more shock on her face than I would've expected. "Va, Vanir-dono, you're responsible for this?"

He raised a hand tepidly, and then explained. "Moi didn't recognize the young master since she was dressed in such an attire; Moi merely thought her to be another adventurer friend of moi's two shop volunteers. So, Moi sent them to do an errand for the shop and it's only now that the trio have returned."

"I, I see." Hearing this, Claire's expression relaxed, and she gave a heavy sigh. She then turned back to me with the slightly angered look returning. "That still, however, doesn't absolve Megumin-dono of her crime of kidnapping the Prince—ahem…chirimen's daughter."

"It-It's not a kidnapping!" Iris said, as she tugged on Claire's sleeve. "Megumin-nee just wanted to do something nice for my birthday so—"

"Even so, Alice-sama, you know how important the coming days are, not to mention how dangerous it is for you be wandering around outside the capital during that time."

Iris fell silent at Claire's retort and once again, this devil who would often times do dubious things, spoke in our favor; he said, "If it's a question of protection, then thou may leave the young master's health to moi."

"Va…Vanir-dono." Claire replied in a hushed tone, her voice full of reticence as she did. I could just barely catch the reddening of her face before she coughed loudly and regained her usual, rigid composure. "V-Very well. I-I suppose nothing bad happened so…" Claire shifted her attention to me once more. "Right, Megumin-dono, in the future, please refrain from doing such things; as someone who glimpsed the life of nobility, you should know such behavior is regrettable, if not outright intolerable."

Then she looked at Darkness who was still standing between me and her and said, "Lalatina, I expect more from someone of your standing; as one of Megumin-dono's teachers you should be more responsible."

Darkness showed a rather ashamed expression.

"Right then, Alice-sama, let's return to the cas—ahem, shop."

Iris looked down dejectedly, showing no resistance.

"By the way," Claire said, looking at me, "as someone of note in the kingdom, you're of course invited to Alice-sama's birthday…please don't disappoint us by not being there."

Iris looked up at Claire with a relieving smile.

And I answered, "Of course." I gave Iris a reassuring smile.

Vanir spoke. "Hmm, girl with no restraint, moi is correct in saying that thee has returned with the magic moi has requested?"

I frowned and retrieved the magic item from my belt pouch.

As I was about to give it to him, he stuck out a hand as to refuse it. "Moi has no need for such an item; did thee forget; this is the source of moi's recent annoyance."

"Well then…what do you want me to do with this?"

He looked at the glowing stone and then smiled. "It's the young master's birthday soon, is it not?"

Claire and Iris exchanged looks, and then Iris spoke, saying, "Um, yes, Hachibei, it'll soon be my birthday."

"Hmm, moi sees." Vanir stroked his chin, a devious smirk upon his face. "Very well then, moi shall gift this magic item to thee."

"To me?"

"Umu. It is the best moi can do for thee at the moment."

I handed the item in question to Iris.

She took it and affectionately cradled it in her hands. "T-Thank you, Hachibei."

Vanir bowed, the smirk still sitting upon his face. "It is moi's pleasure, young master. Please do visit the shop again when thee has the chance to."

She nodded fervently, the saddened expression she had earlier was nowhere to be found.

"Well now," Claire said, "thank you for your present, Vanir-dono. We'll be off now. Come, Alice-sama, Rain is waiting for us at the Teleport Station."

As the both of them walked away, Iris looked back and waved goodbye to us; we all returned the gesture, watching them silently disappear into the depths of the town.

I sighed loudly, and then looked over at Darkness. "Time to head home now, right?"

Darkness sighed too, and then smiled. "Sure."

I looked at Yunyun and asked her, "What are you gonna do now, Yunyun?"

"Huh, well…I should probably head back home; things have been a little busy in the village as of late."

"Oh?"

She nodded, and then frowned. "I bet you haven't even returned yet."

I shrugged. "I'll go eventually; it's annoying having to deal with everyone there."

Yunyun sighed deeply as if to sympathize with me. "Well, I'll be seeing you then, Megumin. Darkness-san, Vanir-san, Wiz-san, Gren-san." She bowed courteously, and then, like Iris and Claire, disappeared into town.

"Ah, by the way, Crimson Demon girl, here's compensation for the completion of moi's request." The masked devil handed me a large bag.

When I grabbed it, I could hear the glass-like clanking of the materials within. "What is this?" I asked.

"Why doesn't thou take a look?"

I opened the bag and saw what appeared to be dozens of high-grade manatite crystals.

"Oh, manatite, nice. With this much I'll be able to do multiple explosions a day; this is indeed a fair compensation."

"Ah, manatite? Silly girl with a silly name and silly routine, what thou has in thy hands is merely broken merchandise; specifically, glowtart crystals. Would thou please take that to the trash bin outside?"

"…"

Upon returning to the mansion, I found Aqua leisurely lounging on the couch, Emperor Zell cooped up in her arms. Irene was also there; it appeared she just came from brewing a pot of tea since she placed the earthenware on the table.

"Ah, welcome home, Lalatina-sama, Megumin-sama." She bowed, as usual.

Looking around, I didn't see Kazuma anywhere. "Is Kazuma not home?" I queried.

Aqua, who was petting the chicken in front of her, answered trivially. "Ah, **that** bum, he's upstairs in his room; he was spouting something about being tired from yesterday, but really I'm sure all he did was play around while we did all the hard work."

When I looked over, Darkness had already taken her usual seat, sighing deeply. "It **has** been a pretty difficult week."

I raised a brow curiously. "Oh, you've been busy, Darkness?"

She nodded. "One of the reasons I agreed to go to the capital was because I had to turn in a report regarding the efficacy of public schooling here in Axel."

Right, she did say something of the sort.

I went on. "Well, I suppose if he said something like that, we should let him get some rest."

Aqua glanced at me in a disapproving manner. "Ever since you two have gotten together, you've been pretty lenient on him—no, even before that; are you really that infatuated with him?"

"Ah, uh, well, d-don't misunderstand, I'm not spoiling him; it's just that I'm pretty tired with the quest I took yesterday." I coughed lightly to regain my composure. "So, there's no point in bothering Kazuma if we have nothing to do, right?"

Aqua continued to stare at me, however, she bore almost no emotion and seemed to be staring at me as if I was a curiosity. Then, she simply began to stroke Emperor Zell. "I guess."

Feeling a bit awkward, I spoke in a slightly loud tone. "S-Say, why don't we have a girl's night? It's been some time since the last, right?"

At this proposal, Aqua sat up and smiled. "Ahh, that's a great idea, Megumin. Darkness," she said, looking over at the tired noble lady, "why don't you go get some nice wine from Mike's shop and see about getting some high-grade meat while you're at it?"

Darkness sat up in the armchair. "Any reason I have to go?"

"I'm taking care of Emperor Zell, so there's no way I'll be able to go and do such troublesome things."

Even though Emperor Zell was already fully grown…

At this moment, Irene spoke in a hurried and excited manner; almost as if she was waiting for such an opportunity. "Lalatina-sama, I-I can accompany you—if-if you'd wish!"

"Ah…well, I don't see why not. Alright, I'll go and get the things; what will you two do in the meantime?"

"I'll get the games," I replied.

Darkness looked at Aqua as if to ask her, 'and you?'.

"What are you staring at me for, Darkness; didn't I already tell you I can't move from here?"

"Ah—well, if that's the case, will you be doing everything from that chair then?"

"Don't worry about me, Darkness, I'll figure that out once we get there. Now shoo, go and get the stuff, ok?"

Darkness sighed, and then left the mansion with Irene in tow.

Since I spent the entirety of the day outside yesterday, I decided to take warm bath, and then look for some of the games I had stashed in my room. By the time I got back to the living room I could hear someone working in the kitchen. I took a quick peek and saw that Irene had returned; presumably, Darkness did too.

"Ah, Megumin-sama, I wanted to ask, is there anything you'd like to eat specifically; I had some sweets and deserts in mind."

"Anything's fine really."

"Very well; I'll go ahead and make some then."

"By the way, Irene, did Darkness come back with you?"

"Ah, yes, Lalatina-sama is currently in her room prepping for a bath."

"Oh, ok. I'll leave you to your work then."

Irene gave a short nod, and then went off to start cooking.

Returning to the living room, I could see that Aqua moved from her spot; she was now comfortably lounging on the length of the couch. Emperor Zell was perched upon her forehead, its pristine white feathers were puffed out and its eyes were shut.

"Aqua, what—"

"Shhh!" She said, almost louder than me. "Not so loud; I don't want to disturb this sweet child's sleep."

I raised a brow and looked at her with a bit of concern. "Hey, don't you think it sleeps too much; I feel like that's a bad sign."

"Nonsense, Megumin; Emperor Zell only sleeps to conserve his mana. Can't you feel his majesty and radiance whenever he's awake? Tell me, when have you ever heard of a dragon as magnificent as Emperor Zell that doesn't sleep?"

"Well…"

"Let me interrupt you there, Megumin, never, you never heard of a dragon as magnificent as Emperor Zell because there is none; there can't be because he's the only dragon to have my own divine mana, you understand? Ow!"

And Emperor Zell woke up pecking Aqua's forehead fiercely.

"Ah, ah, I'm sorry, mommy's sorry, dear; please don't peck her."

As Aqua tried to soothe the angry fowl, Darkness came downstairs in a nightgown.

"Going for a bath, Darkness?" I asked her.

"Yes, ugh…somehow administrative work tires me more than adventuring. I'll be out in a little while."

"Wait, Darkness," Aqua said; she placed Zell on the regal pillow she bought it, "I'll take one with you."

Her forehead was red with peck marks.

After the two went to the bathe, there came a knock on the door.

"Coming," I said, approaching the door; I opened it.

**Part 5**

"M-Megumin?!" It was Yunyun.

"Yunyun? What are you doing here; are you silently trying to stalk me under the guise of it being a coincidence?"

"W-What are you talking about?! Of course not; I'm here because I was invited by Darkness-san."

"Darkness?"

She nodded, saying, "That's right, she told me you all were having a girl's night and that I could come."

"I see; well then, come in." I walked away from the door and went back to prepping the games.

Yunyun, closing the door behind her, came in; she looked around as if she never stepped foot in the mansion before.

"What are you doing, Yunyun?"

"Huh, no, I was just…looking around; it isn't very often that I get to come here."

"Through fault of your own; you could just come here whenever you want, I already said you could…what an annoying girl you are."

"I-I just feel it'd be rude of me to show up uninvited!"

"Did you even bring stuff to stay over?" I said this without looking at her, already knowing the answer.

"Um, no…I forgot—it-it was so sudden that I didn't—"

"Whatever, it's alright," I said with a sigh, "I got a couple things I could lend you."

Yunyun looked at me as if she was contemplating something.

"What, what is it? You got something to say?"

"Uh, n-no, I," Yunyun spoke very softly, "I, I just don't know if the things Megumin has would fit me."

"Ah, you said it, you actually said it! Come 'ere!" I pounced on her and the both of us began to wrestle.

After a while, Aqua and Darkness returned from bathing. Even though it was still quite early in the afternoon we were already dressed in our usual night attires.

"Darkness," I said as she and Aqua came over, "give this girl one of your gowns; she's was all caught up in the moment of being invited somewhere and forgot to get her own."

"Ah, I see, no problem, Yunyun-san; I can lend you one of my nightgowns."

"T-Thank you, Darkness-san."

I spoke, smirking slightly. "I feel I have to warn you though, Darkness' gowns are a bit on the lewd side."

"L-Lewd?"

"M-Megumin!" Darkness shrieked. "What are you talking about?! M-My gowns are-aren't l-lewd in the slightest."

"Ah, you're right," I said as I looked at her current one, "this one isn't see-through; probably because Kazuma's sleeping right now, right?"

Darkness' face and ears turned red in embarrassment and for some reason, the girl beside me also shared the same expression.

"Nevermind that," Aqua interjected, "hurry up and set up the game, Megumin; this time I'll beat you for sure."

"Oho, is that a challenge, Aqua? Very well, I'll accept it."

_**-Later that evening…**_

As the afternoon drew to a close and evening arrived, all of us decided to recount stories and share in the more discretionary secrets we had. Irene continued to bring us desserts and trays of appetizers as we talked. Eventually, someone else intruded upon our small circle.

"Oh, Chomusuke?" I said as she ran and hopped onto my leg. "Where have you been?"

Yunyun reached over and pet the creature who was now snoozing on my lap.

"Haaaaaaaahhhooough." A loud yawn came from further behind and I saw that it was Kazuma. "Oh, hi, Yunyun. Hey, what's going on here?" He looked at us curiously.

"Ah, I see the bum decided to wake up now," Aqua remarked.

"We're having a get together," Darkness answered.

"Umu." I nodded. "We're having a girl's night, so Kazuma's not allowed here right now."

He raised a brow upon me stating that. "You **do** know I live here, right? Anyways, doesn't matter, I was planning on going out anyways."

"Going out? Where to?"

He knit his brow slightly. "What does it matter to you; you guys are having your own happy time, so I'll go out and have some fun with the guys as well."

"I, I see. Well, you go do that. Try not to be out too long though; I have something I want to talk to you about." I turned back around.

"Talk to me?" Kazuma cleared his throat. "W-Well, sure…I guess. I'll keep that in mind. Oh?" He shifted his view on the snacks on the table and stretched out a hand to grab one.

FWAP!

"What do you think you're doing?" Aqua said.

"That's what I wanna ask you, you idiot!" Kazuma yelled as he massaged his hand.

"This is ours; it was made for us by Irene. Didn't you say you were going out?! Shoo, go away. Go to that café you guys like to frequent."

"Tch…grrr." Kazuma grumbled to himself as he walked off to his room once more.

Suddenly, everyone went quiet; realizing this, I looked up. "Huh, what's—"

"Talk to him, hmm?" Aqua said with a sly look on her face; she bit loudly into one of the cookies she took. "Hmmm…"

"It-It's…ahem…it's about something I found during the quest me and Yunyun went on."

"Oh?" Both of them said in surprise.

"Did you find something valuable?!" Aqua said happily leaning forward.

"Eh, well, it's a book of sorts."

"Oh." She sat back down. "Well…if it's a book then"—she sighed deeply—"I guess that's something you can take to Kazuma."

"Book?" Yunyun queried. "Is it that book you found on the desk? The one with all the symbols inside?"

"Eh, er, yeah; that's the one."

"Symbols?" Darkness said in confusion.

"Eh, don't worry, it's just something I'd like to ask Kazuma about later."

"Is it Japanese?" Aqua said inattentively; she was paying more attention to the board game she was playing with Darkness.

"Umu, it is."

"Ah, if it is, I can read it for you; probably better than that bum NEET could."

I shook my head rather timidly and spoke in the same manner. "If it's ok, I'd like to ask **him**."

Aqua glanced at me but oddly enough didn't push the issue.

"Perhaps I should start learning Japanese as well," Darkness announced. "Check, Aqua."

"Hmm, when I get better at it, I wouldn't mind teaching you, Darkness."

"Well, I was thinking it might be better to learn it concurrently, you know, just in case something like this comes up."

"…is that so? Then if that's the case"—I turned to Aqua—"Aqua, why don't you start teaching Darkness some Japanese."

"Ah, I wouldn't mind," She replied with as much attention as before; she was biting her lip as she contemplated her next move.

Darkness, on the other hand, made a somewhat disappointed expression.

A moment later, Kazuma returned dressed in his usual adventuring attire. "Alright, I'm going out," He declared.

"Bye."

"L-Later, Kazuma-san."

"Ha, got you, Darkness!" Aqua yelled; she pressed a piece forward.

Darkness promptly countered it. "See you, Kazuma."

He took one last glance at us, and then left.

"Wait, wait, Darkness," Aqua said exasperatedly, "that isn't where I wanted to go; my hand slipped." She quickly took back the move and shifted the piece elsewhere. With a proud grin she faced Darkness, arms crossed.

"…check," Darkness said calmly.

"Wha?! How come you're so good at this game; isn't Darkness supposed to be dumb?!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Megumin—wait, no, Megumin's pretty good too—Yunyun, come, play me."

"Huh?!" The one who was called out responded panickily. "I-I don't think—"

"Hurry, hurry, come on; I can't let the last game for me end on such a bad note."

"O-Ok." Yunyun reluctantly switched places with Darkness.

This probably wasn't going to end how Aqua wanted it to, so me and Darkness decided to tend to our sleeping arrangements.

"Wouldn't it be better if we all slept in a single room?" Darkness questioned.

A little earlier I explained to her my plan to have all of us sleep in the living room together.

"Well, if we all sleep in a single room doesn't it just lose a bit of its appeal? I feel it'd be better for all us to share stories and stuff in a bigger area."

"I'm honestly worried a bit about Kazuma though," Darkness remarked as she grabbed a few pillows.

"Kazuma?"

"Umu; don't you feel like he'll try to harass us while we sleep?"

"Well, uh—"

"Like he'll sneak up on one of us while the rest are sleeping using Lurk, and then use Bind and gag them? Then, pressing his hands onto my mouth he'll go, 'Darkness, it's your fault for wearing such slutty clothing' now you'll—"

"Wait, woah, hold on; aren't you seeing Kazuma in a different way, and when did the target change to you?"

"Ah, uh, yeah…you're right, sorry…I got a little carried away there." Darkness, whose face was flushed, coughed and recomposed herself.

"You know, maybe sleeping in a room isn't so bad an idea after all."

"No, no. Megumin, let's go with your idea; I honestly haven't done anything like this before, so it'll be a good experience."

"Huh, you've never had a slumber party?"

"Uh, well…not really."

I smiled. "That won't do then; I'll make sure this a memorable experience for you, Darkness."

I said this, but honestly it wasn't much different than what we were doing now. Still, under the darkness of night, the atmosphere would change, and the event could become memorable.

Once we gathered enough blankets and pillows for everyone, me and Darkness returned to the living room to find Aqua all smiles and Yunyun sitting with a conflicted look on her face.

I leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone to Yunyun. "Wait, did you actually lose?"

"At first my competitive spirit was sparked, and I was playing somewhat seriously, but after seeing Aqua-san become somewhat aggressive I decided that winning wasn't all that important."

I frowned at her; this girl was a Crimson Demon, right? I sighed and spoke in a frank manner. "Knowing Aqua it's probably for the best."

"Hey, Megumin," Aqua said, sitting up in her seat, "what's with all the blankets and pillows?"

I smiled. "I was thinking we could sleep out here instead of in a room."

Aqua raised a brow. "Well, if that's the case, I'll sleep on the couch; it's the most comfortable spot."

"I'm fine with that. I'll take the chair and I suppose, Darkness, you'll take the other one, right?"

"But where would Yunyun sleep?" Darkness asked.

"I-I can sleep on the floor; it's fine," Yunyun replied; she spoke hurriedly. "I'm quite used to sleeping on rough terrain, so sleeping on a carpeted—"

Darkness interrupted her. "No, I can't allow a guest to sleep on floor. You can sleep on the chair; I'll take the ground."

"A-Absolutely not, Darkness-san; this is your home, how could I—"

Seeing this back and forth, I interjected. "Shut up, Yunyun and just accept it; Darkness will be fine, trust me."

Although Darkness nodded in a cool manner, I could just catch the red hue of her face; she was surely thinking of this in some odd way.

After setting up our spots, Irene came out and announced dinner. We ate and afterwards decided to start settling in.

"Yunyun, go that a bath," I told her.

"Huh? W-Why is Megumin suddenly telling me that; d-do I smell?" She smelled herself.

"What are you talking about, you odd girl; you haven't bathed yet, have you, so go."

Yunyun stared at me with a faint scowl, and then walked off to the bathroom.

Aqua and Darkness turned in quickly; I was planning on spending more time with Darkness, but it seems like she was tired from today's events. To be honest, I was rather surprised; Darkness was the one with the most vitality in our party right after Aqua, so seeing her fall asleep this early was a bit of a shock.

As I was thinking about this, Chomusuke came over and curled up on my chest.

"Are you feeling left out, little one?" I pet her, and then lifted her up as she stared at me with sleepy eyes. "Don't worry, you can sleep with me for a bit."

Chomusuke purred quietly, her eyes slowly closed shut. Seeing this, I too shut my eyes and before I knew it, drifted asleep.

Some time later I awoke with a start. Chomusuke jumped off and scurried away as I began looking around; it was still dark. Darkness and Aqua were still asleep, but I noticed Yunyun was nowhere to be seen; was she still in the bathroom? If so, had it been a couple minutes?

I got up and walked over to the bathroom. "Yunyun?"

"Megumin?!" The voice on the other side of the door was filled with gratitude. "Thank goodness you're here."

"What, what are you talking about? Are you ok, want me to come in?"

"N-No, I'm fine, it's just, I realized…"

"Realized…"

Yunyun mumbled something inaudibly low.

"What? I, I can't hear you; speak up."

"I…I…" She began to whimper softly; I could tell she was tearing up.

"…Yunyun?"

"I have no…underwear."

"…"

"…"

I sighed deeply. "I suppose I could give you one of mine."

"W-Wha-What is Megumin saying; I-I'm not Kazuma-san; I don't want Megumin's used underwear!"

"New, you idiot! A new pair, not used!"

"I, I see. W-Well, t-that's fine then. Will it fit though?"

I scrunched my brow in slight anger. "Other areas aside, I think we're a similar size when it comes to underwear. I mean if it doesn't fit, you can always sleep naked in that skimpy gown."

"N-Not a chance!"

I smirked. "Alright, wait there; I'll be back."

I ventured to my room and grabbed a pair of underwear. As I made my way back through the dimly lit corridor:

"Oh, Megumin; you're still awake?"

"Kazuma?"

Yes, Kazuma returned.

"Hey, what's that you're holding?"

"Huh, this, **THIS**"—I quickly hid it behind me—"is something for Yunyun."

"For Yunyun? So, why the secrecy then?"

I couldn't see his face very clearly, but I knew Kazuma was staring at me suspiciously from the tone he took.

"Yeah," I said. "This is for, Yunyun; she had an emergency, so she asked me to get her…it."

"…it?"

I nodded silently.

"…oh, I see."

Hearing him say that, made my stomach turn; did he figure out what I was holding? Even though Kazuma had seen my underwear before and we seen each other naked on more occasions than that, for some reason, I was still feeling rather flustered at the thought.

"I see, I see, mhm. It's one of those things that girls go through, huh; well, you two are of that age already, so it shouldn't be a surprise to me."

He misunderstood and I felt a breath of relief within me. "Right, so, let me take this to Yunyun, and then…then we can talk."

"Ah, that's right, you said you wanted to talk about something."

Seems this man forgot.

He continued. "Sure, let me just take a bath first."

"Y-You can't—I mean, Yunyun's in there at the moment."

"Ah…Yunyun's in there?"

"…"

"Hey, relax, I'm not thinking anything lewd, alright?"

"I never said you were."

"B-But your look and silence say everything."

I huffed. "Well, give her a few minutes; she'll be out in a moment. In the meantime, go do something in your room."

Kazuma stayed silent for a moment, and then said, "Alright then; I'm a sensible man, I'll wait patiently."

He said such out-of-character things.

"Kazuma, I'm serious, if I catch you—"

"Hey, hey, I won't do anything, promise."

The way he replied seemed genuine, so I let the issue go.

I returned to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"M-Megumin, is that you?"

I grinned; with such an opportune moment, how could I resist? I prepped my voice and tried my best Kazuma impression. "Huh, Yunyun, is that you?"

"K-Kazuma-kun?!"

I snickered silently, and then continued. "Ah, Yunyun so it is you."

"K-Kazuma-kun, is-is Megumin out there; did she come back, yet?"

"Oh, are you waiting for her?"

"Y-Yes; she went to get me…something important…by the way, are you feeling ok; you sound kind of sick."

"Ah, yeah, I feel kind of sick from all the drinking with the guys, you know?"

"Well…if you went out with Dust-san…a-anyways, t-this is kind of embarrassing, Kazuma-kun; can you please go away?"

"Huh, why is Yunyun getting so flustered; do you secretly like Kazuma or something?" I realized I said this rather oddly in a moment of genuine query, however, Yunyun didn't really catch it.

"N-No—of course not—I-I mean, I think Kazuma-kun is a decent…um…nice…not a bad…evil, person?"

And for some reason, I felt personally hurt by this reply despite not being the target. "H-Hey…it-it doesn't matter, I like—ahem, **love** Megumin anyways."

"A-Ah, is that so? Well, I think that's a good thing…is-is Megumin back yet?"

Satisfied with my little tease, I decided to give it a rest. "Ah, yeah, here she comes; I'll be going now, Yunyun."

"O-Ok, Kazuma-kun."

I silently cleared my throat, and then spoke normally. "Hey, Yunyun, I'm back, you can open the door."

"K-Kazuma-san left, right?"

"Yup."

A second later, Yunyun cracked open a slit to peer from; seeing it was me, she opened it a little wider.

"Here," I said, handing her the underwear.

She quickly took it, and then retreated into the bathroom. A few moments later I heard her yelp, saying: "EHHHHH?! M-Megumin, w-what's with this underwear?!"

Once again, I grinned. "Hmm, what's wrong with them?"

"T-They're so…l-lewd."

In reality, they were slightly provocative; in the sense that they were semi-see-through and made with a lacy material.

"Ah, you think so? You can give them back and I can go see if I have another—"

"No, no, it-it's alright; I'll make do with it."

I, again, snickered silently. Then I realized how much time I wasted. _"Oh no, Kazuma's waiting for me. I got carried away teasing Yunyun."_

I quickly left. Arriving at Kazuma's room, I knocked on the door.

"Come in."

When I opened the door, Kazuma was lying on his bed with only a pair of underwear on.

"H-Hey, when I said go to your room and do something…"

"Oi, just what do you think I did in that loli mind of yours; you're remarkably dirty-minded, you know? I just figured I might as well be like this while I wait for a bath."

"I-I didn't say anything," I quickly retorted. "A-Anyways, about what I wanted to ask."

He sat up slightly. "Yeah, what's up?"

I walked over and sat on the side of the bed. "Umm, I was wondering…if tonight…if tonight you can stay up…a little late with me."

"…late; d-doing what exactly?"

"Umm, I know I've been a bit needy recently, but can you…teach me tonight?"

"…T, oh." As he understood, Kazuma let out such a reply in a deflated tone. When he spoke again, I could hear the faint hints of exasperation in his voice. "Ugh, that's it; that's what you wanted to ask?"

"Of-Of course. Were you thinking—was Kazuma thinking…"

The weak light of the lantern burning reflected the frown he wore.

I spoke in hurried manner and could feel my body start to grow hot with awkwardness. "I-In the first place, weren't you the one who said you wanted to wait to do such things?!"

Suddenly recognizing the fact, Kazuma averted his gaze. "W-Well I wanted to…M-Megumin…so…" He trailed off incoherently, showing a rather embarrassed face.

Seeing him this way, acting in such an uncharacteristically shy fashion, I couldn't help but giggle. Thanks to this I regained my composure and felt my nervousness completely melt away. I said, "No, I want to go with Kazuma's plan of making our first time a memorable experience…after all, despite many issues that happen in between, Kazuma's plans always come through in the end, right?"

He stared silently at me, and then smiled. "Right, right. Alright, I'll go take a bath and come back. What will you do in the meantime?"

"I'll go get the notebook and wait here."

With that, Kazuma left the room with his spare clothing. I did as I said I would and went to get the notebook that I used for studying Japanese, then returned.

When I got back, I sat on the edge of the bed and looked around; I rarely got the chance to get a good look at Kazuma's room. Since it was still pretty dark under the lantern's light, I turned the knob and increased the intensity; it wasn't daylight, but now I could see clearly.

I remembered how Kazuma, under similar circumstances, entered my room and went through my diary; although I felt slightly annoyed at first, there wasn't anything in there I didn't want him to know. And so, I began to wonder, did he keep a diary too? If he did and I found it, would I be justified in reading through it?

I got up from the bed and placed the notebook on the nearby table. Now I was interested in finding out. I took a good look around. If Kazuma kept something of the sort, he wouldn't keep it in an easy-to-find place; it would be somewhere obscure.

Under the bed? I looked. No, too easy, too basic. The closet. I walked over and took a peek inside. Besides clothing, I couldn't find anything of note.

I closed my eyes and pondered deeply on it. Somewhere out place…out of sight? Walking over to the wall, I placed my hand on it and searched it for indentations; after several minutes of this, I found nothing. I backed away, feeling a budding sense of frustration.

"_Where else?"_ I thought. _"The drawers!"_

I opened the first one. Underwear. I felt an irrational amount of shame and embarrassment as I looked at them. For some odd reason, I reached in and grabbed one. I pulled on the ends, watching the elastic band stretch; I couldn't tell you why, but doing something so simple made me happy and relaxed. After a couple of seconds, I realized how much time I was wasting and quickly put the underwear back. When I did, I slammed my hand into the back of the drawer and as I recoiled in pain, I heard a slight click.

"Huh?"

As I massaged my hand, I searched for the origin of the sound and a few minutes later, found it in the bottom drawer; there, a false bottom opened up revealing an elegantly crafted wooden box. The box was the same color as the drawer and, as such, it was also the same as the false bottom. Had I not turned up the intensity of the lantern, I wouldn't have seen it; even if I could, I probably wouldn't have been able to discern it to be any different from the tablet covering it.

As I went to reach in, I heard the thump of footsteps approaching. I quickly pressed down the false bottom and heard it *click* into place. I then closed the drawer and ran over to bed and jumped into it. A moment later, the door opened and Kazuma walked in with his usual green tracksuit.

He stared at me, who was tucked underneath the blankets, covers pulled up to my chin. With an eyebrow raised in suspicion, he asked, "Are you sleepy; did I make you wait too long?"

I took the way out he provided and nodded silently. "I was taking a nap." I felt a twinge of regret upon saying this lie.

"Hmm, really?" He walked over and turned down the intensity of the lantern. "Would probably be easier if to sleep if this thing wasn't so bright."

I sat up. "No, turn it back; I don't want to sleep right now…please."

Kazuma once again gazed at me with an eyebrow raised, this time with a slightly perplexed expression. "Do you really want me to teach you that bad?"

I nodded. "I really want to learn your home language."

"Really? Why the sudden burst of enthusiasm?"

I paused for a second, and then asked, "Don't you want someone to talk to in it, don't you miss it?"

Kazuma paused too, then he sighed, showing a faint smile. "Well, if you're that insistent…" He walked over and grabbing the notebook, settled into bed beside me.

"Kazuma."

"?"

I smiled meekly. "Can you teach me more words tonight?"

He showed a sort of surprised look. "Sure. Do you want to learn more kanji or—"

"The meaning; I want to learn the meaning behinds the sounds, the words; I want to understand more."

When I said this, Kazuma showed a genuine smile. "Alright. Where should we start?"

"Golem," I said. "How would you say 'golem'?"

As per plan, we stayed up most of the night studying. Eventually, I fell asleep. When I came to, it was morning. Kazuma was still asleep so I decided to get up and meet everyone downstairs for breakfast.

When I arrived at the table, Yunyun and Darkness were already eating. A plate was eggs and toast were brought out for me by Irene, but I noticed Aqua was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where's Aqua?"

Darkness, who was reading the news, answered. "She's still asleep; she woke up to go to her room, and then went right back to sleep."

Yunyun suddenly spoke. "I noticed Megumin was nowhere to be seen last night; did you fall asleep in your room?"

"I fell asleep with Kazuma," I replied nonchalantly.

I heard the toast she was eating hit the plate with a dull thump. I didn't need to look because I already knew the expression she bore with my reply.

I continued. "Anyways, let's all go do my Explosion daily. I'll go wake Aqua."

"W-Wait!" Yunyun cried. "I-I just heard Megumin say something incredible!"

Paying no mind to the noisy girl, I went upstairs to fetch Aqua.


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_**-Somewhere in Axel…**_

"Are you sure about this?" The man I brought with me said.

I looked at him disapprovingly. "You know why we're here, Platinum."

"Platinum? Come on, don't do that, use my name."

"You idiot, we're in enemy territory; this a reconnaissance mission to confirm the information given by that failure of a man."

"Aww, don't be like that, Annie; Wulf really tried. Don't you remember how tough things were for us back then?"

"Codenames, you fool!"

"Honestly, I think it'd bring more attention to us if we did; just imagine if you heard someone calling someone else something like 'Platinum' and 'Gold', you'd probably think they're a bunch of weirdos."

"Guh!" I couldn't deny this man's line of reasoning. "F-Fine but try to limit how much you say my name."

"Umu, umu, sure thing, Annie."

I clicked my tongue. This impudent man.

He looked around, a stupid and childish smile on his face. "So, this is it, the Kingdom of Belzerg's, Axel City. Such a nice place compared to the north."

"Kelby-san, please try to stay focused."

"I am. I'm totally focused, but that's no reason not to enjoy the sights."

"We're on an important mission, not some vacation."

"I know, I know."

"Oh, do you now? Then why don't you tell me exactly why we're here; what's our objective?"

"Really now; are you sure—" Seeing my eyes narrow on him, he coughed gently and began to recite our mission. "We're here to corroborate the reports given by Wulf about a certain party who not only thwarted our plans to steal a legendary coronatite core but has supposedly also defeated the Demon King of the West."

"Thank you, seems like you still remember. As such, I want you to focus on the task. Honestly, I wish I could've come with someone else, but the Demon King has decided you were the one to accompany me on this mission."

"I can honestly sympathize with you on that."

"What was that?!"

"Nothing. Hey, look, that must be this town's Adventurer's guild; I'm sure if we go there, we could gather some reliable intel."

"Umu, not a bad idea; let's go."

Suddenly a group of girls passed in front of us; they were walking in the same direction. A loli on the back of a what appeared to be a blonde-haired knightess was yelling loudly.

"Haaaah, what an amazing explosion; I still can't get over it!"

"I still don't understand why you had to use it on a single Giant Frog!" A black-haired girl with similar features to the loli exclaimed. "I could've dealt with it!"

A blue-haired girl spoke; from the look of her attire she appeared to be a priest of some sort. "Those insolent beasts deserve no mercy, Yunyun. I, for one, believe that they need to be utterly annihilated."

The knightess sighed. "How unfortunate. How I wish for us to go back to our early days; it's starting to seem like Giant Frogs might no longer be a threat."

"Oh, shut up, Darkness," the blue-haired priest said, "you just want to be eaten by the frogs. Next time give me your armor while **you** run around being chased!"

The blonde-haired girl let out a weird noise; something between a sigh and an excited shriek.

"Anyways, since you guys woke me up so early, I say we head back and have some nice wine. And even though I didn't get eaten this time, I still worked up a sweat, so we can all have a nice bath together."

The sensible black-hair girl named Yunyun said, "W-Well, let me get a change of clothes first, please."

The loli replied with a sneer. "Don't worry, Yunyun, I could give you another pair; I have plenty."

"A-Absolutely not!"

I didn't understand the circumstances, but given the girl Yunyun's disposition and reddened face, I could tell it was a rather embarrassing event to recall.

Eventually, the group deviated from our path and their odd conversation blended into the background.

"What a weird group," I commented.

"Umu. Is this what the town of beginners in this part of the world is like?"

"Humph, it's surprising the Demon King of the West was defeated by such adventurers."

"Well, I mean, we don't know that."

"No, you're right, Kelby-san; it's likely he was defeated by powerful adventurers from Belzerg's capital. Yes, perhaps we're wasting our time investigating this place. Powerful adventurers wouldn't stay here; they'd likely congregate at the most important place of the nation."

"I agree, but I don't think scouting this place is a waste of time. After all, all adventurers are beginners at some point. If a group powerful enough to defeat the Demon King of the West exists, then they surely must've come from here."

"Good thinking."

Suddenly, Kelby-san scratched his chin. "Come to think of it, didn't Wulf say he fought against a powerful blonde-haired knightess?"

Both of us stopped in our tracks.

"…you don't think…"

We both laughed and shook our head. "No," I said, "this is the town of beginners; intelligence aside, I don't think that man would lose to a beginner knight."

Kelby-san showed a serious expression once more. "But there's also that little girl; she was talking about explosions. You think she meant the spell?"

I paused to give it some thought. "Impossible. The only ones capable of learning Explosion are devils and beings with abnormally long lifespans. Mana capacity aside, the amount of time it would take for someone her age to learn Explosion would be too long. She would've had had to learn it at such a young age. Not only that, but there'd have to be someone crazy enough to teach her such a stupid spell."

"Hm, yeah, but…black hair and red eyes…"

"…a Crimson Demon?"

"I'm thinking. In any case, Annie, I agree with you; a girl her age wouldn't possibly know a spell like Explosion. It's likely she knows something like Blast or Detonate. Yeah, in fact, that makes more sense; if she was a Crimson Demon then it'd make sense for her to be born with enough skill points to make learning such skills possible."

"Still…a Crimson Demon; the bastards are powerful. To have an Archmage in this city."

"That's not incredibly odd; for all we know, she's probably just started her…" Kelby-san trailed off. "No, they mentioned something about their beginnings…which means…"

"Veteran adventurers?"

"…" He shook his head, and then laughed again. "Perhaps I'm thinking about it too much. Yeah, back in Grimstone there were still the few odd veterans; maybe it's the same here."

"Hmmm, perhaps. Regardless, we're here for intel; if those girls are indeed prominent, we'll definitely find out."

"That's true. Well then, I'll catch you later."

"Wha—where do you think you're going, you fool?!"

"Hm? It's better if we split up; we'll draw less attention that way."

I sighed. "You have a point. Alright, let's meet up at the guild to discuss our findings."

"Ok, Boss," He said teasingly.

"Oh and Kelby-san…"

"Yeah?"

"Don't screw this up."

He sneered. "Not a chance, Annie-chan; I'm not about to let some do-gooders ruin my life of decadence."


End file.
